Engineering - One Hour Later
Torpa made a rude, gutteral sound as she saw the cloaking field deteriorate to a 5% variance. One more percentage, and the system would reach a critical point and a cascade failure would result. Her fist came down with significant force on the console frame, creating a loud metallic sound that reverberated through the area.
Looking up towards Cat, she shook her head. "Minutes left, and not many of them. I don't think we are going to make it to that dead star of theirs. The rate of variance is increasing."
A few heads turned as the news was revealed, and then work returned to the laying out of a special coolant line out of the engine room. An ungainly ad-hoc solution, the pipe ran through the halls. It was a potential hazard and a partial obstruction, but the need for supplemental cooling was great enough that such brutish measures were necessitated. To Torpa, it reminded her of an arterial bypass being implanted into the body of an aged man with heart disease. Many Klingons would have opted to die, had such been their fate. But the Old Man could not be permitted such dignity.
Much more would be demanded of him before this mission was done.
IKS Lod Qan - Bridge
Solluk turned to regard Zex as she asked her question.
"On our previous encounter with them, they only ever transmitted one word to us via subspace: 'Gregari.' We have taken it to be their name for themselves, although it is not much to go on."
Solluk frowned a bit as he thought back on that first encounter. It had not been the sort of First Contact that Starfleet officers dreamed of.
"I always felt that they must use some other means to communicate among themselves. And, ever since we saw some at the Thinkers planetoid, I have assumed that the Thinkers use some other means to communicate with them. It could be something as simple as some unusual frequency that we do not usually monitor.
If you can help unravel the mystery, there will be a commendation in it for you."
He smiled at her, genuinely hopeful that some of the Gregari mysteries might be uncovered during this mission.
However, any optimism he felt was quickly dampened by Rayek's news.
He sighed. "For all we know, the Gregari will take as much interest in a derelict as they will an active vessel. I really wanted the mass of that star to disguise our presence on long-range sensors.
But... if needs must. Have all stations prepare to power down their sections. We will enter quiet running, battery power only."
It probably wouldn't matter. The amount of infrared they would be putting off, and the amount they'd need to bleed in order to get the ship's temperature back to normal, would mean they'd be a campfire in the desert of the night.
The only good news was that their heat signature could only travel at the speed of light. So, while they'd be glowing bright for the duration of their cooldown... that heat wouldn't be seen unless someone came within a handful of AU's of their position.
There were other ways to be detected at long range, of course... but at silent running, they might get lucky.
They'd better get lucky.
"Tell Engineering I'm giving them two hours to get us back to warp with cloak online. So whatever heat they need to dump, dump it fast. I think we have enough food reserves that we can afford to transfer a lot of our heat to the waste extraction holding tanks and blow the stuff out. Not an... elegant solution. But something to consider."
He turned back to regard Eli and said, "Get to one of the assault shuttles. And I'll need a volunteer to take the second one. If we are found, it may take us several minutes to get main power back online. For that duration, only our embarked craft and the Tholian attack ship will be available to defend us."
[Engineering]
Walking into Engineering she looked for Cat Goodspeed and, spotting her, rather busy to put it mildly, spied an Ensign and walked over.
"I know you're busy... but I come bearing gifts. Tell Cat 'lagh 'Not exactly a knickerbocker glory but 2 gel cool packs per person to help cool you down and 6 containers should be being beamed directly full of the same but sealed, don't worry they're completely safe unless you're stupid enough to try eating the stuff, and then won't kill you just won't taste too nice and be rather smelly... it has ammonia in it.' I hope these will help though!" Hrafn said with a smile and passed over the packs which were about the size of a standard slice of bread and maybe twice as thick.
"I can't stay, got to get these to Medical and the Bridge too, hope it helps!" the CSO said with a wave and got out of Engineering's hair as they were probably the busiest department on the ship at the time.
She waved in Cat's direction but wasn't sure if she'd see her, Hrafn just wanted out of the oppressive heat even with her gel packs it was almost impossible for her to breathe in there.
The CSO went on to Medical and dropped off some gel packs there adding a few extra in case of people needing cooled down. Finally she came back to the Bridge.
IKS Lod Qan -EngineeringCat could hear the voice of her red headed friend from behind her but didn't turn her head.
Turning her head too quickly at the current temperatures within the Engineering room would either mean throwing up or passing out.
Neither an option Cat particularly relished at this particular moment.
Cat was trying to multitask but her brain synapses had decided to fire off into nothingness.
Nothing was connecting. Coming up with ideas was like trying to find a black silent kitten in a black silent castle with no light to guide your way.
Cat caught Torpa's eye and turned, too sharply for her overheated bodies liking and promptly threw up the content of her stomach into a nearby bin.
Luckily it was just fluids, Cat hadn't been able to keep down any solids for the last 36 hours. A common component to heat exhaustion so Cat had been taking her calories in liquid form.
Cat felt a huge Klingon arm wrap itself round her waist and lead her to a chair by a console. She wiped her mouth on her sleeve and smiled weakly at the Klingon she recognized who had been manning the Warp console. She placed her head in her hands and then inhaled sharply as a cold pack was placed around her neck.
Torpa pressed the cool pack firmly and held it there "
Cat Lagh, you need to rest you need to get out of this heat..."
"
Torpa, we ALL need to rest, we ALL need to get out of this heat. And where to we go? And do what?" Cat closed her eyes and tried to will the coldness from her neck to the rest of her body. "
We need to vent this heat... We need to get this vessel and the joy riders to safety..." Cat swallowed hard.
"
The venting system will only get us so far, the cooling packs can only cool down the air and if we cool it down too fast then we run the risk of condensation contamination throughout the whole ship."
Cat felt the nausea rise up in the pit of her stomach again. No amount of cooling packs would replace the fluids from her body.
She needed fluids and that meant IV. And that meant going to sick bay. And that meant Cat would be sending the most robust, biggest, strongest Klingon in engineering to demand a portable IV unit for her.
She reached up and clasped the Klingon womans arms tightly. "
Torpa..... Torpa... I need fluids... IV, send one of the boys to sickbay and get a few packs for me.. Oh and portable thing I can wheel around whilst I'm here... And... "
Cat stopped and tilted her head very slowly..... "
Torpa?"
"
The cloak.. I assume between our hulls and the cloaking shield we have some amount of dead space in between?"
The Klingon looked at the human female. "
of course Cat lagh... "
"
OK.. I want us to start venting in atmosphere from in-between the cloaking device and the hull STRAIGHT to the cooling systems in engineering ONLY!"
"
Whilst we do that we start pushing out all the heat from here to other areas of the ship. And then start venting them from any free cargo bays.. Get some of the big brave warriors to shift the heavy stuff."
"
Let the rest of the ship heat up while we cool The heart of the Old Man down. Let them sweat it out for a bit".
Cat felt her mouth fill up with saliva, not a good sign.
Torpa looked at the pale face of the human in front of her. She wasn't even sweating now.
"
Harl'on!" Torpa barked at the Klingon closet to her "
Go to sick bay now!! We need IV suitable for humans, we need 2.. No 4 packs... And holder and lines... NOW!!!! IF you do not come back with them in 5 minutes I will come and gut YOU AND ALL in sickbay!"
The large Klingon stood up, swaying slightly in the heat and ran from the room.
"
Cat lagh.... We are getting the fluids... You will feel better soon... We will not fail.."
The Klingon womans words bought some comfort to the worn out silver haired woman currently semi slumped over the console as she watched the cloak figures.
The 2 hour window should give them enough time to vent a small amount of heat but to bring it down to safe enough levels so the cloak would still work?
What next, would they be expected to pull a rabbit out of their ar...
Cat blinked. And started to laugh to herself.
"
Cat lagh?? Why are you laughing?? Packs.. More cooling packs!" Torpa voice rose with concern, thinking the engineer's brain had began to boil.
"
Torpa.. It's OK.. I'm Ok.. Oh actually a couple more cooling packs would be nice" Cat took 2 offered by one of the Klingon Warp operators and shoved one under each of her armpits.
"
I just remembered a conversation I heard years and years ago... I was a lot younger.. Met a Klingon.... He was retelling a story about when a Trill called Dex... No.. Might have been Dox?? Or Dax.. told him a colourful metaphor which including rabbits and bottoms..."
Torpa caught the eye of one of her colleagues and shrugged. She had not been around a human before suffering from heat exhaustion. She did not understand how such a thing could affect a human of Cats build.
Cat puffed her cheeks out and moved the cooling pads from her armpits and moved them in her chest area.
"
His name was Kang! That was it.."
Cat continued as if she was just talking to herself. "
Lovely bloke... Very very calm for a Klingon. Anyway I remember asking my Dad about him afterwards. Apparently he once used a tactic to once bypass a Federation’s detection grid during the short-lived Klingon-Federation War. Was so successful they called, by the Klingons, the Subtle Blade of Kang’. Or something...."
Cat was mildly aware of a small sharp pain in the back of her left hand but paid no heed.
Torpa slowly and steadily began to knead the IV saline solution bag that was now attached to a portable stand to get fluids into Cat at a slightly faster pace than the automated system would permit.
Cat rubbed her free right hand across her face. She was so hot now.. Inside and out.
Cat continued "
Do you know what he did?? One massive warp pulse into the nacelles. Then dialled down the reactor, except for enough to maximise navigational deflectors and inertial dampeners"
"
We could do that Torpa...let the inertial dampeners create a ‘subspace super-fluidity’ we could let the Old Man coast at high warp, with a dwindling warp bubble..... Should maintain speed for around an hour before falling speeds makes it....pointless. Also allows power to be spared to the cloak to account for divergence."
Cat fell silentfor several minutes before speaking again. "
Torpa? Could you relay that to the Captain? Feeling a bit.. Well.. Fluffy... Might just rest my head for a bit on the console.."