KillerFish
Grumpy Owl, Bird Lawyer
Hopefully that'll happen. But knowing Paris he'll try to "prove" he's not a coward by doing something foolhardy like trying to go faster than warp 10 ...
The Voyage Without
- Thread starter Hiver
- Start date
Hopefully that'll happen. But knowing Paris he'll try to "prove" he's not a coward by doing something foolhardy like trying to go faster than warp 10 ...
Literally stabbing Zephyr pretty much anywhere would simultaneously demonstrate incredible stupidity and possession of a certain base courage...
- Pronouns
- She/Her
*laughs*
Okay fair
The next psyonic evolution I'd like to see in Zeph is for him to be able to solar sail. DS9 shows us that it is possible to travel faster than light on a solar sail by sailing on tachyon currents, so he could eventually be a capable of interstellar travel with out any innovation by the author.
JmonsterNEO
Spouter of nonsense
- Location
- The quest forums
Looks like they're going to have to arrange another funeral. Because Zephyr just fucking slaughtered Paris.
Honestly I think the dragon part is a big part of what happened here lol.
Dragon sees cowardly prey in an important position that leaves the prey responsible for keeping HIS ship safe.
37
I had not even bothered leaving my quarters, yet alone my sleeping pad.
I didn't need to move to review reports and logs. By the time we reach the alien system tomorrow, I wanted to be sure everything was in top shape just in case it turned into a shooting gallery.
Even in the best case, we would need every available shuttle ready and in top condition to move crew up and down from the surface. In an emergency at least, according to The Neelix, the aliens had a space elevator.
Which is strange to think of as not very special, all that meant was that they were motivated to go to space before they had cheap space lift capability.
If you were limited to chemical rockets, a space elevator was one hell of an upgrade.
If you had countergrav and thrusters, not so much. But if you already have it, you might as well keep using it.
Everything should be fine, but we're arriving tomorrow and I wanted a final look at things.
The computer beeped and I glanced at the notification in my visor. Incoming comm signal from the Val Jean.
I opened it, voice only, "Zephyr here."
"Zephyr, it's Torres," the Val Jean's chief engineer said, "I don't suppose you have any M31 power converters in storage?"
M31 power conv- "Your ship doesn't use M31 power converters," I said, "Your model uses M29. They don't even have the same mounting socket."
"I'm well aware, but it can be made to fit. And in the Maquis we rarely have access to Starfleet requisitions."
"...We don't really have access to that now either," I grumbled, "One second," I then added as I checked the database, "...Yes, we have some. How many do you need?"
"How many have you got?"
We can manufacture them, even replicate most of it, but the inner coating had to be made with an energy resistant alloy, meaning it didn't replicate. Or at least didn't replicate well.
"Five, I'm willing to give you two," I admitted.
"Then I guess I need two," she answered with a sigh, "It's been a couple of months and we're already running out of supplies. We have mountains of what we don't need and nothing of what we do need."
I snorted, "Tell me about it. A crewman doing inventory last week found that we have an entire container of selfsealing stembolts. Of the wrong model for the Intrepid class. Where did that come from? And why is it in a container marked 'recreational equipment'? Nobody seems to know."
That got an amused sound, "Starfleet haven't changed much it sounds like."
"I doubt that's Starfleet as much as any major organization, bet you anything the damn Tal Shiar have the same problem," I grumbled, "And don't you dare tell me with a straight face you don't have containers of stuff you have no idea how they came onto your ship and where from."
"In our defense, we did have to pack up rather quickly."
"True," I admitted, "We still have some of your junk clogging up one of our holds. Quick survey when it was moved showed mostly personal effects."
"From people lost," Torres said and then let out a sigh, "We didn't have time to pick and choose, we just took everything we could in the time we had. Now.... now we'll likely find a use for it."
"Eventually," I agreed, "Oh, and before I forget, your captain requested a shuttle from us. Approval came through yesterday, when we drop out of warp shuttle someone over and you can take shuttle two."
It'll save me the effort of burning it.
"...What's wrong with it?"
"Why would anything be wrong with it?" I asked innocently.
"Because you would be the one to choose which one and you would send us the one giving you the most headaches," she growled, "Engineer to engineer, what's wrong with it?"
I laughed, "I'm not sure why, but the thrusters are a bitch on that one and refuse to stay in calibration for more than a couple of weeks. Shuttle wrenches will be really happy to be rid of her."
"Sounds like a relay issue."
I chuckled, "You'd think so, but I pulled the entire assembly myself. Good luck, and if you figure it out, please let me know what it was."
"Will do, we'll pick it up with the converters. Thanks, Torres out."
Torres was alright. She might have a temper, but she had a brain and she didn't bother me uselessly. Good engineer too. Not as good as me, of course.
Assuming this wasn't another trap, I was actually starting to look forward a bit to going down to the surface. I might be able to get some flying in and they apparently had some great museums.
Assuming I fit inside of them anyway, but worst case I could lounge in the sun and send Huginn inside.
That sounded pretty nice actually.
Hell, even with what happened the last couple of times, just getting out of this maze called a ship had been nice. Just to be able to stretch my wings whenever I want to had been worth hunting Kazons for a bit.
Seventy years stuck in here was just a depressing thought, even more so as it would start to feel smaller and smaller as I grew, and that was without any possible growth spurts.
Which was just unacceptable.
I need either a bigger ship or faster engines. Surely either or both of those can be arranged. I was not as much of an expert in warp propulsion as I would need to be to speed my ship up.
And I wouldn't just be able to take things we already knew either, the ship already flew as fast as its engines could sustain. Sure, we could sprint a lot faster than our cruise, but it would wear out the engines really fast.
But if we could keep our flank speed the entire way, it would make the journey a lot shorter.
We usually cruised at around six point five to seven point five.
It would take some seventy years to get back. If we were able to go at maximum warp the entire time, we'd be back in less than a decade. Sadly, doing that for even a day would require a full engine rebuild and likely materials we wouldn't have at the moment.
But even being able to step our standard cruise up by point one would have some real benefits over time.
I eyed the log I had been reading before Torres called.
Fuck it, it could wait. Closing it down, I considered things for a second before I started to access everything we had in the way of courses on warp fields, warp engines and such from the academy.
Might as well start with reviewing what I already knew and then go from there.
I didn't need to move to review reports and logs. By the time we reach the alien system tomorrow, I wanted to be sure everything was in top shape just in case it turned into a shooting gallery.
Even in the best case, we would need every available shuttle ready and in top condition to move crew up and down from the surface. In an emergency at least, according to The Neelix, the aliens had a space elevator.
Which is strange to think of as not very special, all that meant was that they were motivated to go to space before they had cheap space lift capability.
If you were limited to chemical rockets, a space elevator was one hell of an upgrade.
If you had countergrav and thrusters, not so much. But if you already have it, you might as well keep using it.
Everything should be fine, but we're arriving tomorrow and I wanted a final look at things.
The computer beeped and I glanced at the notification in my visor. Incoming comm signal from the Val Jean.
I opened it, voice only, "Zephyr here."
"Zephyr, it's Torres," the Val Jean's chief engineer said, "I don't suppose you have any M31 power converters in storage?"
M31 power conv- "Your ship doesn't use M31 power converters," I said, "Your model uses M29. They don't even have the same mounting socket."
"I'm well aware, but it can be made to fit. And in the Maquis we rarely have access to Starfleet requisitions."
"...We don't really have access to that now either," I grumbled, "One second," I then added as I checked the database, "...Yes, we have some. How many do you need?"
"How many have you got?"
We can manufacture them, even replicate most of it, but the inner coating had to be made with an energy resistant alloy, meaning it didn't replicate. Or at least didn't replicate well.
"Five, I'm willing to give you two," I admitted.
"Then I guess I need two," she answered with a sigh, "It's been a couple of months and we're already running out of supplies. We have mountains of what we don't need and nothing of what we do need."
I snorted, "Tell me about it. A crewman doing inventory last week found that we have an entire container of selfsealing stembolts. Of the wrong model for the Intrepid class. Where did that come from? And why is it in a container marked 'recreational equipment'? Nobody seems to know."
That got an amused sound, "Starfleet haven't changed much it sounds like."
"I doubt that's Starfleet as much as any major organization, bet you anything the damn Tal Shiar have the same problem," I grumbled, "And don't you dare tell me with a straight face you don't have containers of stuff you have no idea how they came onto your ship and where from."
"In our defense, we did have to pack up rather quickly."
"True," I admitted, "We still have some of your junk clogging up one of our holds. Quick survey when it was moved showed mostly personal effects."
"From people lost," Torres said and then let out a sigh, "We didn't have time to pick and choose, we just took everything we could in the time we had. Now.... now we'll likely find a use for it."
"Eventually," I agreed, "Oh, and before I forget, your captain requested a shuttle from us. Approval came through yesterday, when we drop out of warp shuttle someone over and you can take shuttle two."
It'll save me the effort of burning it.
"...What's wrong with it?"
"Why would anything be wrong with it?" I asked innocently.
"Because you would be the one to choose which one and you would send us the one giving you the most headaches," she growled, "Engineer to engineer, what's wrong with it?"
I laughed, "I'm not sure why, but the thrusters are a bitch on that one and refuse to stay in calibration for more than a couple of weeks. Shuttle wrenches will be really happy to be rid of her."
"Sounds like a relay issue."
I chuckled, "You'd think so, but I pulled the entire assembly myself. Good luck, and if you figure it out, please let me know what it was."
"Will do, we'll pick it up with the converters. Thanks, Torres out."
Torres was alright. She might have a temper, but she had a brain and she didn't bother me uselessly. Good engineer too. Not as good as me, of course.
Assuming this wasn't another trap, I was actually starting to look forward a bit to going down to the surface. I might be able to get some flying in and they apparently had some great museums.
Assuming I fit inside of them anyway, but worst case I could lounge in the sun and send Huginn inside.
That sounded pretty nice actually.
Hell, even with what happened the last couple of times, just getting out of this maze called a ship had been nice. Just to be able to stretch my wings whenever I want to had been worth hunting Kazons for a bit.
Seventy years stuck in here was just a depressing thought, even more so as it would start to feel smaller and smaller as I grew, and that was without any possible growth spurts.
Which was just unacceptable.
I need either a bigger ship or faster engines. Surely either or both of those can be arranged. I was not as much of an expert in warp propulsion as I would need to be to speed my ship up.
And I wouldn't just be able to take things we already knew either, the ship already flew as fast as its engines could sustain. Sure, we could sprint a lot faster than our cruise, but it would wear out the engines really fast.
But if we could keep our flank speed the entire way, it would make the journey a lot shorter.
We usually cruised at around six point five to seven point five.
It would take some seventy years to get back. If we were able to go at maximum warp the entire time, we'd be back in less than a decade. Sadly, doing that for even a day would require a full engine rebuild and likely materials we wouldn't have at the moment.
But even being able to step our standard cruise up by point one would have some real benefits over time.
I eyed the log I had been reading before Torres called.
Fuck it, it could wait. Closing it down, I considered things for a second before I started to access everything we had in the way of courses on warp fields, warp engines and such from the academy.
Might as well start with reviewing what I already knew and then go from there.
- Location
- USA
Zephyr changes his sub-type from Red dragon to Celestial dragon!
KillerFish
Grumpy Owl, Bird Lawyer
Ah yes, the ever mysterious self-sealing stembolts. What are they used for? Why does someone need so many of them? How are they "self-sealing"? Why don't they replicate them on a as needed basis instead of having crates of them lying around?
Not even the writer who invented them knows.
Not even the writer who invented them knows.
Winged One
Not the Simurgh
- Location
- definitely the ground
- Pronouns
- They/Them/It
Pff.
"Why would there be something wrong with the shuttle?"
"Because you're a dick."
"Ah, you got me."
"Why would there be something wrong with the shuttle?"
"Because you're a dick."
"Ah, you got me."
- Location
- Land of Confusion
To be fair, with some noun swappage that convo could've been between any two mechanic shops in existence. It's less about being a dick, and more about making one of your problems into someone else's problems.
- Location
- Pacific Rim
I'm really liking the tone Zephyr brings to this story, I know a lot of Voyager stories try to point out the fallacy (how the hell does spell check think the correction of falacy is 'cyclical' ffs? I think my computer needs some morning coffee
) of the constant search for the perfect fix writing the show lived on, but when your talking 70 years, a micro increase in sustained engine efficiency will start shaving off years of travel pretty fast...as it were.While from an in-character perspective that's got value, from a meta perspective it seems like such an improvement would have no perceptible effect on the show at all.I'm really liking the tone Zephyr brings to this story, I know a lot of Voyager stories try to point out the fallacy (how the hell does spell check think the correction of falacy is 'cyclical' ffs? I think my computer needs some morning coffee
Bringing the timeline from 70 years down to 30 wouldn't change that your show will definitely only reach the finish line by means of a discontinuity (whether space or time).
38
The locals seemed friendly. The Veelu looked a bit like ants, but bipedal and with a green carapace. The usual clothing seemed to be mostly different cuts of robes.
There were other aliens around as well, especially here in the capital, but like usual I got a lot of stares just moving down the street.
Some rules had been put together for anyone going on shore leave in addition to the usual ones. Stick to groups of four and don't go wandering off was the major one.
Chakotay and Janeway had come up with another one to 'promote friendly relations between crews'.
Meaning, mix the groups up with half Maquis and half Starfleet as much as possible. Which is why I was in a group with Dinah, Chakotay and Seska.
Funnily enough, Chakotay and myself were the ones actually enjoying ourselves.
"-hat's fascinating is the way they seemed to have jumped from stone to iron tools," Chakotay said as we moved up the stairs towards the next museum.
"Indeed," I agreed with a nod, "But in retrospect, it's not that surprising. This is an iron rich world and the oxygen levels are almost thirty five percent. It makes it a lot easier to get fires hot enough to work it."
Chakotay nodded, "Which likely has something to do with it, but it's still fascinating. The same conditions also make copper and bronze easier to melt."
"True," I said, "But it likely had a lot to do with locations of early settlements as well as metal deposits. Easily accessed iron and difficult to access copper and tin could make all the difference. Take Earth for example, there were not many spots where tin could be readily accessed."
"Likely," he mused, "I wonder if it would be possible to get access to some of their old maps."
"...And now we're visiting another museum?" Dinah asked, "That's three."
I turned my head to look at her, "And the last one, then we'll find some food. Besides, I bet you'll find this one more interesting."
It was their version of an aerospace museum. Everything from early flight to their first warp ships.
"Hey! Hey!"
I looked forward again, seeing a Veelu in red robes quickly approaching, arms waving.
"You can't bring that in here!" He or she yelled. I honestly couldn't tell the difference. I knew what to look for, apparently it was something in the antenna but I just couldn't see the difference.
"I assure you," I told them, "All three are quite well behaved."
That made them stop and stare at me with big compound eyes, "You... you're a guest?"
"I am a guest," I told them with a nod, "Thinking and speaking and everything."
"My greatest apologies!! Dishonor on my family!"
I shook my head, "No dishonor required. I know the way my species looks is unusual. You do your family honor in trying to preserve the contents of this museum."
I actually liked the Veelu. In general anyway, they seemed to be a very friendly people and very honor focused. Not at all in the way of Klingons, who seemed to be mostly bluster to be honest, but more in the way of... wanting their kin to think well of them?
So far, this didn't seem like a trap at all which was a nice change of pace.
They bowed deeply, "My gratitude. I am Ruli, a guide at this collection. Please, allow me to show you our collection as an apology."
Ruli, male then. Their male names seemed to commonly end with 'i' or 'y'.
"Most appreciated, I am Zephyr. This is Dinah, Chakotay and Seska," I told him.
What followed was fascinating. They didn't just have pictures or holograms or even models. They had some of the actual craft as well!
Including what I was looking at some thirty minutes later. Suspended in a force field, surrounded by noble gas to protect it was their first ever heavier than air airplane. Which to my amusement could have passed for a cousin if not a sister of Kitty Hawk. It even had the same general configuration with double levels of wings and split controls between front and rear.
The biggest difference was where the Kitty Hawk had had two propellers, this had a single one in the rear.
Standing before it, I carefully spread and stretched my wings as wide as I could.
Seska looked amused, arms crossed as she leaned against a nearby railing, "Almost."
"I'm over a meter short," I admitted and folded my wings again.
"You are capable of independent flight?" Ruli asked, looking up at me.
I nodded, "I am. I'm actually looking forward to going flying a bit later, your higher than average oxygen and slightly thicker atmosphere will make it quite easy for me."
Ruli gazed up at me, "Amazing. In which case, perhaps you would be interested in continuing to our last exhibit? It's dedicated to our exploration of this quadrant."
"That sounds interesting," Chakotay said, "Do your people still explore?"
"Some," Ruli said and made a small buzzing sound as he led us into the next chamber, "We have a few exploration vessels, but mostly they are dedicated to finding useful natural resources. It was decided that exploring for exploration's sake was not cost effective."
The Veelu still used money. Which while not exactly rare, sure seemed to get in the way of fun a lot.
Their way seemed healthier than most anyway, they seemed to be doing it more like the Trill, a fair way to distribute resources for effort instead of the hyper capitalistic like the Ferengi or old Earth.
Pausing, I watched what looked like a warp capable space probe. Three warp nacelles?
Interesting.
The rest moved on to look at artifacts found as I studied the probe. There had been talks about trying three nacelles on a Galaxy prototype, I know that much. Something about being able to make her faster in sprints.
There may be some data in the database about that, that was an interesting idea. Usually warp fields had two poles, but if a third could be used... perhaps instead of increased power, it could be used for increased efficiency?
Unlikely to apply it to Voyager, that sort of thing usually took an entire new design, but maybe it could get me some ideas.
Maybe run it past Torres if I get an idea, see what she thought about it.
Noticing I had fallen behind, I quickly trotted up to join the rest as they studied a selection of artifacts. Some sort of old weapon, a partial destroyed what looked to me like power coupling and a white and gold sphere about the size of a human head.
The orb started to glow brightly and I paused as everyone turned to look at it.
I eyed it. It was difficult to see through the glow, but it seemed to be made of some white material inlaid with a simple pattern of gold, "Is it meant to do that?"
Ruli shook his head, "No. Definitely not. It has never done anything like that before."
"Zeph," Dinah said, "Back off a bit."
I blinked at her and then did as I was told. When I was some five meters away, the glow faded away into nothing.
Then I moved closer again. When I reached three meters away, it started to glow.
"What is that?" I asked Ruli.
He turned to look at me and then at the orb again, "...We don't know. But it was found on a planet four lightyears from here during a mining operation. We have been unable to test the age of it, but the sediment around it was over sixty-eight million years old."
There were other aliens around as well, especially here in the capital, but like usual I got a lot of stares just moving down the street.
Some rules had been put together for anyone going on shore leave in addition to the usual ones. Stick to groups of four and don't go wandering off was the major one.
Chakotay and Janeway had come up with another one to 'promote friendly relations between crews'.
Meaning, mix the groups up with half Maquis and half Starfleet as much as possible. Which is why I was in a group with Dinah, Chakotay and Seska.
Funnily enough, Chakotay and myself were the ones actually enjoying ourselves.
"-hat's fascinating is the way they seemed to have jumped from stone to iron tools," Chakotay said as we moved up the stairs towards the next museum.
"Indeed," I agreed with a nod, "But in retrospect, it's not that surprising. This is an iron rich world and the oxygen levels are almost thirty five percent. It makes it a lot easier to get fires hot enough to work it."
Chakotay nodded, "Which likely has something to do with it, but it's still fascinating. The same conditions also make copper and bronze easier to melt."
"True," I said, "But it likely had a lot to do with locations of early settlements as well as metal deposits. Easily accessed iron and difficult to access copper and tin could make all the difference. Take Earth for example, there were not many spots where tin could be readily accessed."
"Likely," he mused, "I wonder if it would be possible to get access to some of their old maps."
"...And now we're visiting another museum?" Dinah asked, "That's three."
I turned my head to look at her, "And the last one, then we'll find some food. Besides, I bet you'll find this one more interesting."
It was their version of an aerospace museum. Everything from early flight to their first warp ships.
"Hey! Hey!"
I looked forward again, seeing a Veelu in red robes quickly approaching, arms waving.
"You can't bring that in here!" He or she yelled. I honestly couldn't tell the difference. I knew what to look for, apparently it was something in the antenna but I just couldn't see the difference.
"I assure you," I told them, "All three are quite well behaved."
That made them stop and stare at me with big compound eyes, "You... you're a guest?"
"I am a guest," I told them with a nod, "Thinking and speaking and everything."
"My greatest apologies!! Dishonor on my family!"
I shook my head, "No dishonor required. I know the way my species looks is unusual. You do your family honor in trying to preserve the contents of this museum."
I actually liked the Veelu. In general anyway, they seemed to be a very friendly people and very honor focused. Not at all in the way of Klingons, who seemed to be mostly bluster to be honest, but more in the way of... wanting their kin to think well of them?
So far, this didn't seem like a trap at all which was a nice change of pace.
They bowed deeply, "My gratitude. I am Ruli, a guide at this collection. Please, allow me to show you our collection as an apology."
Ruli, male then. Their male names seemed to commonly end with 'i' or 'y'.
"Most appreciated, I am Zephyr. This is Dinah, Chakotay and Seska," I told him.
What followed was fascinating. They didn't just have pictures or holograms or even models. They had some of the actual craft as well!
Including what I was looking at some thirty minutes later. Suspended in a force field, surrounded by noble gas to protect it was their first ever heavier than air airplane. Which to my amusement could have passed for a cousin if not a sister of Kitty Hawk. It even had the same general configuration with double levels of wings and split controls between front and rear.
The biggest difference was where the Kitty Hawk had had two propellers, this had a single one in the rear.
Standing before it, I carefully spread and stretched my wings as wide as I could.
Seska looked amused, arms crossed as she leaned against a nearby railing, "Almost."
"I'm over a meter short," I admitted and folded my wings again.
"You are capable of independent flight?" Ruli asked, looking up at me.
I nodded, "I am. I'm actually looking forward to going flying a bit later, your higher than average oxygen and slightly thicker atmosphere will make it quite easy for me."
Ruli gazed up at me, "Amazing. In which case, perhaps you would be interested in continuing to our last exhibit? It's dedicated to our exploration of this quadrant."
"That sounds interesting," Chakotay said, "Do your people still explore?"
"Some," Ruli said and made a small buzzing sound as he led us into the next chamber, "We have a few exploration vessels, but mostly they are dedicated to finding useful natural resources. It was decided that exploring for exploration's sake was not cost effective."
The Veelu still used money. Which while not exactly rare, sure seemed to get in the way of fun a lot.
Their way seemed healthier than most anyway, they seemed to be doing it more like the Trill, a fair way to distribute resources for effort instead of the hyper capitalistic like the Ferengi or old Earth.
Pausing, I watched what looked like a warp capable space probe. Three warp nacelles?
Interesting.
The rest moved on to look at artifacts found as I studied the probe. There had been talks about trying three nacelles on a Galaxy prototype, I know that much. Something about being able to make her faster in sprints.
There may be some data in the database about that, that was an interesting idea. Usually warp fields had two poles, but if a third could be used... perhaps instead of increased power, it could be used for increased efficiency?
Unlikely to apply it to Voyager, that sort of thing usually took an entire new design, but maybe it could get me some ideas.
Maybe run it past Torres if I get an idea, see what she thought about it.
Noticing I had fallen behind, I quickly trotted up to join the rest as they studied a selection of artifacts. Some sort of old weapon, a partial destroyed what looked to me like power coupling and a white and gold sphere about the size of a human head.
The orb started to glow brightly and I paused as everyone turned to look at it.
I eyed it. It was difficult to see through the glow, but it seemed to be made of some white material inlaid with a simple pattern of gold, "Is it meant to do that?"
Ruli shook his head, "No. Definitely not. It has never done anything like that before."
"Zeph," Dinah said, "Back off a bit."
I blinked at her and then did as I was told. When I was some five meters away, the glow faded away into nothing.
Then I moved closer again. When I reached three meters away, it started to glow.
"What is that?" I asked Ruli.
He turned to look at me and then at the orb again, "...We don't know. But it was found on a planet four lightyears from here during a mining operation. We have been unable to test the age of it, but the sediment around it was over sixty-eight million years old."
- Location
- france
That is the Cretaceous era... Are you doing the "Distant Origin" episode from season 3?
I'm wondering if Zephyr will be arguing against doing that...
Because yeah it's totally a plot hook but they've got a lotta problems without going looking for weird shit.
Zephyr being the first one on Voyager's trip to become responsible for a child would certainly be a development nobody expected.