Athena Mission 2.10 The Last Directive

[Jules Bash]

[Holodeck]

Your suggestion seems reasonable. Perhaps we should proceed? If we cannot find the problem in the immediate parent relays, we can always extend the diagnostic further until we find the issue. It doesn't seem likely that it can be too far removed from this relay or the ship would be experiencing problems in other areas. It must be localized. I suppose there is not much else we can do here.

Jules considered anything else on the subject.

"Should be it for this. I do have another project I could use some assistance on. I could set it up while you send off your report if you are interested?"

Might as well as get help with the paperwork and initial design parameters of his project since they were both there. The one thing he could say, is that at least she was direct enough that they managed to work rather quickly.

He started inputting the design commands for the simulation, figuring he would use the time and resources to work on the project whether she cared to assist or not.

[Ezac]

[Deck 4 - Main Security - Lieutenant Commander Brighton's Office]

[Deck 4 - Main Security - Commander Brighton's Office]

Katheryn waited until her newest department member sat down, noting he was trying to be as comfortable as he could and wasn't one for long meetings so would try and keep this as brief as possible. In answer to his question, she looked at him directly before speaking in her usual polite and friendly way.

" With me being pregnant and speaking to the XO, we both agree that I need to take a more hands off approach when it comes to my duties until I give birth " she replied "I'll still be responsible for running drills, dealing with reports, inspecting equipment etc but when it comes to away teams and other physical confrontations I would like you to take my place, so in effect you would be my deputy and in charge of any teams that go with you" she said knowing she had made the right choice when selecting who she wanted to take over and hoped he would accept.

"Thank you for taking the time to make this request, Lieutenant Commander; however, I would assume that this sort of temporary modification to procedure would be expected."

Ezac paused momentarily after he finished speaking. He didn't want to appear as callous or ungrateful, but he could recall more than one instance in his past in which he took on additionally duties as a way of providing leave for crew mates who were pregnant, injured, or sick.

"It is my pleasure," he offered finally as a way of assuring his willingness to help.

[Ozu Saya]

Jules considered anything else on the subject.

"Should be it for this. I do have another project I could use some assistance on. I could set it up while you send off your report if you are interested?"

Might as well as get help with the paperwork and initial design parameters of his project since they were both there. The one thing he could say, is that at least she was direct enough that they managed to work rather quickly.

He started inputting the design commands for the simulation, figuring he would use the time and resources to work on the project whether she cared to assist or not.

[Holodeck]

Certainly, I would be glad to be of assistance.

Saya retrieved her PADD from the floor and began typing in her report at Bash set up his simulation. After sending the report, she moved to observe what the Andorian was doing.

What is your project and how may I be of assistance?

She stood where she could see, hands behind her back, but far enough away to not invade his space (or her own).

[Naira]

Bridge

Suzie, who had gotten up when Naira had entered the Bridge, shook her head.

"No problem Commander." She replied. "I'll inform you when we rendezvous with the Admiral's ship." She finished, sitting back down in the chair.

[Bridge]

"Sounds good. Keep me informed and let me know if we receive anymore encrypted messages from Starfleet."

She glanced around the bridge at the various officers and crewmen already having returned to their tasks after her brief announcement. Several took the opportunity to sit up straighter or smooth out the folds in their uniforms from sitting for so long. It was a big deal to see an admiral come aboard, she neededn't say it, they all knew it. Likewise, they all probably felt just as nervous as she did as she tried to prepare for his arrival.

Everything needed to be perfect.

They needed to show that even way out here in the Gamma Quadrant that they could hold up Starfleet's standards and as a shiny beacon for everything the Federation stood for.

"Ash to Commander Naira. That should be no problem."
"I'm actually on my way to the Mess Hall right now. I just need to know what he would like and when it needs to be ready by."=/\=

I'm meet you there and we can figure something out together.

She smiled at the bridge officers once more before heading back towards the turbolift.

[Turbolift]

As she headed down towards the Mess Hall a thought suddenly came to her.

Naniid, how would you and your sisters like a very special job? I'll let you have a few hours off from your studies.

What kind of job?

Naira had to smile at her oldest's response. The girl was smart, sometimes possibly too smart for her own good. However, Naira encouraged the girl to think for herself, weigh her options and be assertive. She was learning.

We're going to be having a very special guest coming aboard the ship later. I would like you and your sisters to go into one of the guest rooms, make sure everything is clean and tidy and if we can I think we should make it feel more like home. If you want to bring over one of the bioluminescent ferns from our room, I'll bring down some flowers from my office later and help you set things up.

There was a bit of a delay before she heard her comm badge chirp again.

We'll do it!

Thank you, I'll be there soon to help.

[Katheryn Brighton]

[Deck 4 - Main Security - Lieutenant Commander Brighton's Office]

"Thank you for taking the time to make this request, Lieutenant Commander; however, I would assume that this sort of temporary modification to procedure would be expected."

Ezac paused momentarily after he finished speaking. He didn't want to appear as callous or ungrateful, but he could recall more than one instance in his past in which he took on additionally duties as a way of providing leave for crew mates who were pregnant, injured, or sick.

"It is my pleasure," he offered finally as a way of assuring his willingness to help.

[Deck 4 - Commander Brighton's Office]

Katheryn listened as Ezac answered her, thanking her for making the request before speaking about how he assumed this temporary change to procedure would be expected and understood what he meant, knowing he wasn't coming across as ungrateful. Her and Caleb had already discussed that she needed to take things easy and speaking to both the XO and now Ezac only confirmed that she was doing the right thing and that her department was in good hands when she wasn't available.

Then when he finished by saying that it would be his pleasure, she smiled before answering him. " I agree with your assumption and I'm glad that you accept as you were my first choice when the XO asked me to name someone to take over" she replied " I know you will do me and the department proud".

[Jules Bash]

[Holodeck]

Certainly, I would be glad to be of assistance.

Saya retrieved her PADD from the floor and began typing in her report at Bash set up his simulation. After sending the report, she moved to observe what the Andorian was doing.

What is your project and how may I be of assistance?

She stood where she could see, hands behind her back, but far enough away to not invade his space (or her own).

The holodeck switched the display to show the USS Zeus, shuttle bay door open, and an away team communications console set up a few feet away, approximately the same set up that they had on the planet.

"Back on that planet, about a month or so ago? Zeus landed, Second Officer set up the communication console to boost in field communications. It was set to relay communications between all comm badges within range, and to the shuttle."

He stepped around the console, and through the doors of the holodeck. He had neglected to include the planet surface in the simulation, simply because it wasn't really needed. Besides, he preferred a world closer to his native Andoria. Jules assumed that she would follow him, or she'd just hear him from the console overlook.

He entered into the USS Zeus, heading straight for the front of the shuttle.

" You'll remember the communications black-out on our end. EM interference in the atmosphere. I noticed it when we arrived, but it wasn't a problem until it became stronger, for yet unknown reasons. Normally I'd have noticed, but I was distracted. The shuttle should have set an alarm, and it would have, if not for the natives."

He pointed at a hole in the wall where the alarm and diagnostic panel would have been. Jules had examined the detachment remnants while they had returned to the ship, and mimicked it as best as he could from memory, though it wasn't terribly critical.

"All communications outside of the group was running through the shuttle, which would have set off an alarm that it couldn't contact anyone long distance because of the EM interference, and then switched to backup communications channels. Without that panel, it did nothing. The external comms station didn't alert anyone because it still had full communications with the shuttle, and the comm badges in the field. I got approval to add equipment alarms. My thoughts were to have a program that would set off an alarm if the shuttles communications were disabled, but from the external station. Essentially a back up communications alarm program. "

Jules took a second to get a deeper breath, trying to figure out if he was rambling on about the problem, or if he had described it succinctly.

[Ezac]

[Deck 4 - Main Security - Lieutenant Commander Brighton's Office]

[Deck 4 - Commander Brighton's Office]

[...]

Then when he finished by saying that it would be his pleasure, she smiled before answering him. " I agree with your assumption and I'm glad that you accept as you were my first choice when the XO asked me to name someone to take over" she replied " I know you will do me and the department proud".

"I can assure you that I will work relentlessly to earn your choosing me first," Ezac replied. He knew that his records were available to anyone that was inclined to read them, but he still felt honored that he was chosen to complete tasks that would temporarily be outside of the realm of Brighton's duties.

Sensing the end of the reason for meeting, Ezac rose slowly from his seat and stood tall. "If there is nothing further, Lieutenant Commander, then I would like to make myself available to our crewmen."

[Ozu Saya]

The holodeck switched the display to show the USS Zeus, shuttle bay door open, and an away team communications console set up a few feet away, approximately the same set up that they had on the planet.

"Back on that planet, about a month or so ago? Zeus landed, Second Officer set up the communication console to boost in field communications. It was set to relay communications between all comm badges within range, and to the shuttle."

He stepped around the console, and through the doors of the holodeck. He had neglected to include the planet surface in the simulation, simply because it wasn't really needed. Besides, he preferred a world closer to his native Andoria. Jules assumed that she would follow him, or she'd just hear him from the console overlook.

He entered into the USS Zeus, heading straight for the front of the shuttle.

" You'll remember the communications black-out on our end. EM interference in the atmosphere. I noticed it when we arrived, but it wasn't a problem until it became stronger, for yet unknown reasons. Normally I'd have noticed, but I was distracted. The shuttle should have set an alarm, and it would have, if not for the natives."

He pointed at a hole in the wall where the alarm and diagnostic panel would have been. Jules had examined the detachment remnants while they had returned to the ship, and mimicked it as best as he could from memory, though it wasn't terribly critical.

"All communications outside of the group was running through the shuttle, which would have set off an alarm that it couldn't contact anyone long distance because of the EM interference, and then switched to backup communications channels. Without that panel, it did nothing. The external comms station didn't alert anyone because it still had full communications with the shuttle, and the comm badges in the field. I got approval to add equipment alarms. My thoughts were to have a program that would set off an alarm if the shuttles communications were disabled, but from the external station. Essentially a back up communications alarm program. "

Jules took a second to get a deeper breath, trying to figure out if he was rambling on about the problem, or if he had described it succinctly.

Saya followed Bash into the shuttle, looking over the simulation as he explained and nodding as he recounted the events from his end.

Yes, I was attempting to establish communications from the other shuttle and was unable to do so. I was not aware that the problem was that the console had disappeared. She raised a wry eyebrow.

It would be logical to have alarms and redundancies wired into other systems in the instance of communication failure. Perhaps having the ability to route communications through the sensors or other systems in the event of a catastrophic failure? We were fortunate not to have lost anyone on that planet because of the loss of communication.

Do you have a plan already? How may I help?

She waited expectantly for Bash's answer, eyebrows raised and hands behind her back. She fought the urge to rock on her heels as she spoke.

[Jules Bash]

Saya followed Bash into the shuttle, looking over the simulation as he explained and nodding as he recounted the events from his end.

Yes, I was attempting to establish communications from the other shuttle and was unable to do so. I was not aware that the problem was that the console had disappeared. She raised a wry eyebrow.

It would be logical to have alarms and redundancies wired into other systems in the instance of communication failure. Perhaps having the ability to route communications through the sensors or other systems in the event of a catastrophic failure? We were fortunate not to have lost anyone on that planet because of the loss of communication.

Do you have a plan already? How may I help?

She waited expectantly for Bash's answer, eyebrows raised and hands behind her back.

Jules moved himself to sit casually in the pilots chair, looking at the missing console, trying to organize his thoughts. He found himself distracted briefly as he noticed that she was being stiff, and even beyond that, unusually still. He decided how well a human phrase that Jules had adopted in a strange sort of irony would go with this crewman.

"Chill."

Not wanting to actually see the results, and in part to hide his smirk at him telling a Vulcan to relax, he leaned forward and pretended to examine the detachment points.

"There's the simple solution, of installing a program in the communications station that monitors the shuttle connection to the Athena. But we will continue to run into these problems if we service them only as they arrive. If we had a standardized program that we could spread over most, if not all of the equipment as back ups to each other and to the shuttle systems, it'd, well, it'd be about as perfect as it gets. But that also means anytime one alarm goes off, every piece of equipment we had would go off at the same time, which would be a nuisance, if nothing else."

He leaned back in the seat, himself better composed now that he was focusing on the project at hand.

"Best option I can figure is a kind of chain of command, from one device to another. But it'd have to be adaptable to the equipment available, have sufficient safeguards of one component to another, and still be usable equipment. Otherwise, we just end up with a circle of equipment that manages to monitor the next one in the chain, but does nothing else."

[Ashlynn Ren Morgaine]

I'll meet you there and we can figure something out together.

[Personal Quarters]

Ash finished sliding her last shoe on, then headed for the door. "Sounds good to me." She paused briefly in the doorway to check her reflection in the mirror, then (with a hopeless shake of her head at her unruly hair) entered the corridor. From her quarters, it was only a short walk to the Mess Hall.

[Mess Hall]

As soon as Ash entered the room, she made a beeline for the small kitchen area set off to the side, grabbing an apron and sliding it over her head as she walked. Without pausing, she reached for the well-used cookbooks on the shelf over the counter and flipped the largest one open with a satisfying thud. She had a few of her favourite recipes marked, but without knowing what Admiral Kirok liked she didn't know if any of them were suitable. Wait... Admiral... What's an Admiral doing on our ship?

[Ozu Saya]

Jules moved himself to sit casually in the pilots chair, looking at the missing console, trying to organize his thoughts. He found himself distracted briefly as he noticed that she was being stiff, and even beyond that, unusually still. He decided how well a human phrase that Jules had adopted in a strange sort of irony would go with this crewman.

"Chill."

Not wanting to actually see the results, and in part to hide his smirk at him telling a Vulcan to relax, he leaned forward and pretended to examine the detachment points.

"There's the simple solution, of installing a program in the communications station that monitors the shuttle connection to the Athena. But we will continue to run into these problems if we service them only as they arrive. If we had a standardized program that we could spread over most, if not all of the equipment as back ups to each other and to the shuttle systems, it'd, well, it'd be about as perfect as it gets. But that also means anytime one alarm goes off, every piece of equipment we had would go off at the same time, which would be a nuisance, if nothing else."

He leaned back in the seat, himself better composed now that he was focusing on the project at hand.

"Best option I can figure is a kind of chain of command, from one device to another. But it'd have to be adaptable to the equipment available, have sufficient safeguards of one component to another, and still be usable equipment. Otherwise, we just end up with a circle of equipment that manages to monitor the next one in the chain, but does nothing else."

Saya's head slowly tilted to one side as her left eyebrow shot up, nearly disappearing into her fringe of hair. She stared at the back of Bash's head for a moment as she processed what he'd said. Chill? She'd heard the word, mostly in conjunction with talking about something cold, but remembered a human classmate saying the same thing to her once. She'd been sleep deprived and the less sleep she'd had the more rigidly she held on to her Vulcan training. Later, she'd asked her roommate what it meant and had been somewhat affronted when told the meaning. Now she wondered if the Andorian was being ironic, humorous or rude.

Deciding it was better to ignore for the moment in favor of the puzzle at hand, Saya shook her head. She'd deal with it later if it became an issue. Saya rarely showed her true personality to people she didn't know well, so his words had no real impact on her. Most expected Vulcan behavior from her because she looked mostly Vulcan. It had been easier to meet that expectation than to waste time explaining to people that, yes, she did sometimes laugh or smile. Her Vulcan mask had become stronger as she'd studied better meditation techniques at the Academy.

Saya turned her thoughts to Bash's proposed solution, weighing the merits of each option and considering and discarding several others before a workable idea occurred to her.

Ahh. She said suddenly, stepping forward to drop into the other seat and look over the consoles. Perhaps a combination of your two ideas would be the most efficient.
Have a program connecting each system to several---perhaps two or three---others in a smaller chain reaction. It would be more like a web of redundancies that would mean not everything would alert at the same time, but would provide enough backups that even if more than one system went out at once, we could still pinpoint and bypass them more quickly.

She rested both hands on the console in front of her, mind already figuring out the best systems to connect and how such a program would work.

[Jules Bash]

Ahh. She said suddenly, stepping forward to drop into the other seat and look over the consoles. Perhaps a combination of your two ideas would be the most efficient.
Have a program connecting each system to several---perhaps two or three---others in a smaller chain reaction. It would be more like a web of redundancies that would mean not everything would alert at the same time, but would provide enough backups that even if more than one system went out at once, we could still pinpoint and bypass them more quickly.

She rested both hands on the console in front of her, mind already figuring out the best systems to connect and how such a program would work.

Jules frowned for a moment. He'd been thinking along the lines of a chain, and had to adjust the mental map he'd been using.

"That'd work, if all pieces were in play at all times. At some point or another, someone is going to try to use some piece that happens to not be 'webbed' to anything else on the mission."

Jules leaned back, and found his mind jumping already to a few steps ahead in a new train of thought.

"What if we kept the web idea, but created an autonomous program to create it for each mission? Either create sensor attachments that attach to any outgoing equipment, or embed the same program from the sensors to any equipment that can run it's own sensor work. Have the sensors or programs modulated as each equipment is attached with a sensor or checked out by the master program. Worst headache would be creating the web design program, or embedding sensors in all of our most used equipment."

Jules leaned back as he looked off into the distance, moving his mind over his mental map, trying to list out all of the tasks that would be required for it.

"Thoughts?"

[Kirok]

[USS Lirpa]

While Kirok waited for a reply, he tapped out a message to his helm officer.  They were the coordinates of the meeting place.  And the directive was to get there as fast as possible.

[Ozu Saya]

Jules frowned for a moment. He'd been thinking along the lines of a chain, and had to adjust the mental map he'd been using.

"That'd work, if all pieces were in play at all times. At some point or another, someone is going to try to use some piece that happens to not be 'webbed' to anything else on the mission."

Jules leaned back, and found his mind jumping already to a few steps ahead in a new train of thought.

"What if we kept the web idea, but created an autonomous program to create it for each mission? Either create sensor attachments that attach to any outgoing equipment, or embed the same program from the sensors to any equipment that can run it's own sensor work. Have the sensors or programs modulated as each equipment is attached with a sensor or checked out by the master program. Worst headache would be creating the web design program, or embedding sensors in all of our most used equipment."

Jules leaned back as he looked off into the distance, moving his mind over his mental map, trying to list out all of the tasks that would be required for it.

"Thoughts?"

Saya sat back in her seat, considering the suggestions. She spoke slowly at first as she continued to mull over the possibilities.

Creating the program would be the most difficult part, but completing that at the beginning would make future use much easier. The way most Star Fleet technology is made, it should not be difficult to embed the program into most current devices and shuttlecraft. There might be an issue with older technology, but we can work out a way to allow the connections there as well. If the program is uploaded into each device, then it should be easy to activate from there. We can make the program automatically connect each device to a series of others.

The program could connect to random devices until it reaches its maximum. It will create the web of connections that should prevent failures from happening without the users being aware. Then, as you said, it can be used for each mission on an individual basis, incorporating only the equipment that is in use. Would we want to include a proximity parameter? We don't want devices we take to a planet trying to connect back to the ship, although that could be useful as well.

Saya fingered her earring as she trailed off in thought. Her eyes wandered as she visualized how they could best write the program and what features should be included.

[Jules Bash]

Saya sat back in her seat, considering the suggestions. She spoke slowly at first as she continued to mull over the possibilities.

Creating the program would be the most difficult part, but completing that at the beginning would make future use much easier. The way most Star Fleet technology is made, it should not be difficult to embed the program into most current devices and shuttlecraft. There might be an issue with older technology, but we can work out a way to allow the connections there as well. If the program is uploaded into each device, then it should be easy to activate from there. We can make the program automatically connect each device to a series of others.

The program could connect to random devices until it reaches its maximum. It will create the web of connections that should prevent failures from happening without the users being aware. Then, as you said, it can be used for each mission on an individual basis, incorporating only the equipment that is in use. Would we want to include a proximity parameter? We don't want devices we take to a planet trying to connect back to the ship, although that could be useful as well.

Saya fingered her earring as she trailed off in thought. Her eyes wandered as she visualized how they could best write the program and what features should be included.

Jules was distracted momentarily by a jostling movement. His eyes looked down to notice that she was playing with her earring. He smirked for a second, thinking that even the Vulcan engineers had to fidget.

"With the older technology, just have the sensor attachments. Can monitor readings through most casings, and still work as a secondary monitor. Proximity will be an issue. I think we will either need to create a master console for this program, or designate one program or sensor attachment on each away mission as the "parent" piece, designed to monitor long range alarm transmissions. Have this program added to each shuttlecraft, since those are what run most of our planet to ship comms. For those where we are leaving equipment, just work the program onto the comm station, which should be broadcasting to a geo-synch probe. Have it on all other pieces of equipment, and alarm monitoring should be fine, and even double checking itself."

Jules eyebrows furrowed together in a look of brief concentration.

"There was another problem I thought of... No... No, I lost it. Biggest thing would be creating the, OH!"

Jules sat forward, a look of concentration on his face.

"When we build this program, we have to change it for each device it's monitoring. What would set off a power alarm in one piece of equipment, wouldn't be a problem in another."

Jules grinned at the floor, excited that he had caught his thought again. He leaned back in the chair, and savored the feeling for a second. It was something that as he thought of it afterward, should have been obvious, and therefore didn't need to be spoken. But the way he got distracted these days, it was a great feeling to actually be able to come full circle on a thought he thought he had lost.