Posted by Fleet Captain Drudoc Andone (Commanding Officer) in Main Sim - Deck 13 - A Rock In The Labs
[snip]

Claude returned to the geology lab and its most unassuming occupant, the big piece of boridium that had decided to join them on their trip to… well, wherever they were.

Fayth had said not to waste anything due to limited energy supplies. Maybe this rock was a blessing in disguise. In the Alpha Quadrant boridium was stable in its inert form but it was discovered that in its radioactive form could be used to power small devices.

A seed of an idea was being planted. Claude would need to do some research and run some simulations to be sure if it was viable, …but maybe this rock could help them out here.

• Genard

Caelian stepped from the turbolift, nodded politely to the pair of waiting officers. His mind still whirring, he almost bumped into a woman as he turned into the main corridor. He muttered an apology, of course, before moving on. His mother would have had no less. Caelian swallowed around a pang of loss at the thought. So far away, he sighed. But no less far away than yesterday. He paused at a display, had the computer queue up the route to the science labs. That needed to be his focus right now: what he could do.

Plenty of time to worry about what you can’t do after you’ve done all you can, he sighed wryly to himself. We haven’t even been here a full day yet. Still plenty of possibilities.

It was possibility that had dragged him down to the science labs, had pushed him through the door into the sterile space. There was at least one person that he could see hard at work. What displays he could see from the doorway flickered as they processed whatever query they’d been given, information flowing like amber water down the screens. He’d always been fond of the sciences in his own way, more of a hobbyist than a part of who he was. Caelian preferred to know what he could do with the universe, wasn’t merely content to know how it worked. Yet there was a synergy there that he had to accept, applied himself well enough that the two worked in harmony to get things done.

He stepped up to a polite distance behind the man he saw, enough in his peripheral that he wouldn’t startle him. Hopefully. Caelian thought he’d recognized him from the corridor where his team had repaired the breach. His smile slipped a bit, but only just. Shifting the toolkit in his hand into a more comfortable position, he cleared his throat politely.

Sensing the presence behind him, Claude turned as the young officer spoke.

“Excuse me, sir. I was told this was where our boridium guest is staying. If you folks don’t need the whole thing for analysis, I’d like to take a sample down to Engineering to run some tests.”

—Caelian Weir, Engineer—

“Engineering?!!” Claude’s face brightened considerably at the news of the newcomers role aboard the ship. His expression and demeanor totally changed from intense introverted researcher to excited child. “You’re just the person I need to talk to.”

Snapping his fingers his face scrunched as he attempted to recall the Engineering’s name. “Wiggings…Wondo…Where…Weir! Weir that’s it” Motioning with his hands he called the man over to his station. “Please come over. I need your input. I think I understand this but it’s not my field of expertise.”

Caelian’s lip twitched, but only just. While he certainly didn’t expect the entire crew to know his name, it never ceased to amaze him how many confused it with other names. Reliable, not remarkable, he reminded himself calmly. But… it’s just one syllable.

“I was asked to research this asteroid and in doing so I had a wild idea that might just help The Ark Angel while we are…well where ever we are.” Pointing to the images and diagrams on the wall monitor, Claude continued his theory, “In the Alpha Quadrant, boridium is used as a power supply component usually in small scale devices and applications. But the concept is the same. Boridium has similar radioactive qualities to uranium, and as such it can be a more safer substitute for the highly radioactive uranium.”

Stepping around Genard carefully so as not to break the man’s train of thought, the engineer looked over the simulations the other man had been running. He’d worked around similar technologies as a teenager during his time aboard the Venture. While he hadn’t been allowed to be fully hands-on then, he’d familiarized himself with theory and application through simulations and conversations with his father. The simulations were very broad strokes, but Genard was at least aimed in the right direction. He nodded along as the man continued.

“Our impulse drive is powered by a fusion reaction using deuterium as the main fuel source. This heavy hydrogen mixture is the main source of the fusion reaction, but it still needs the basic uranium 238 to create the fusion reaction. My idea is to supplement this natural boridium instead of the uranium. I have been running simulations that look promising but I don’t know the quirks or side effects of this ‘natural’ boridium. As you know, our power reactors not only power our Impulse engines, but supply a reliable back up power through the ship. Heck, with all of the boridium on that asteroid field, we might be able to power the impulse engines solely on them. If I can figure out the variances…”

Finishing his soliloquy Claude anxiously looked over at Weir; “So, Weir, as and Engineer, am I just spitting into the wind or can this work?

“If I may?” Caelian set down his toolkit and gestured to the console. After a brief pause for politeness, he began to pull up information from the ship’s archives. Displays of several different boridium-based generators appeared on the nearby screens, technical details overlaying each one in sequence. The centerpiece was, of course, the Ark Angel‘s own reactors.

“As you said, the ship’s reactors aren’t far off from being able to use a different type of reaction matter,” he explained, gesturing to the displays. “Based on the designs of both Federation and non-Federation generators, we’d have to modify the structural containment fields here and here to account for variants in radiation. Depending on the energy output difference, we may have to add some extra shunts and bypasses—especially for a vessel this size—but I think there’s enough space that we could make it work. Once we find a stable reaction rate, impulse speeds wouldn’t be an issue.”

He paused for a moment while the scientist processed his suggestions. Simulations were one thing, but the practical application would be a whole different beast. In Federation space where the Ark Angel could at least limp to a nearby starbase or garner assistance, there wouldn’t be an issue. With a properly-outfitted space dock, Caelian could have the modifications done in less than two days. But, as Genard pointed out, they had no idea where they were. Resources were unknown. Obstacles were unknown. The territory was unknown. And, worst of all, threats were unknown. Mistakes, he knew, were something they could not afford to make.

“My biggest concern,” he continued with an almost grave expression, “is how this natural stuff will react compared to the boridium you and I are familiar with. Back home, we synthesize it—which means we’re able to control a great deal of its creation process, thereby limiting factors of the outcome. Natural resources come with things like impurities, something that I’d very much like to avoid when it comes to our power systems.”

The ghost of a smile returned. “If this stuff is good enough, though, it should buy us time to sift through the rest of the asteroid field and prospect ourselves some choice nuggets for the trip home.”

Caelian’s attention drifted back to the display of the Ark Angel and her impulse reactors. HIs mind was already moving throughout the ship, changing this part for that and tinkering around with various modifications. As he worked out the kinks in his initial process, the engineer’s hands drifted over the console to enter commands to alter the model before him.

“We’d most likely have to set up a containment area in one of the shuttle bays,” he murmured thoughtfully, as much to Genard as to himself. “That way, we could flush the boridium if it somehow destabilizes to reduce risk to the crew. Maybe I could talk to the captain about an auxiliary reactor against the ventral hull section here before we…”

Caelian blinked and laughed sheepishly, stepping back from the console. “Sorry, sir. I hadn’t intended to take over your station. If you’d rather, I can run these spec simulations in Engineering once I get the sample for analysis. If you have any other suggestions, I’m happy to hear them. If we’re going to get home in one piece, we’ll need to work together.”
—Caelian Weir, Engineer—