Arrival of the Chief Engineer

Posted on Mon Dec 18th, 2023 @ 1:20pm by Lieutenant Commander Travis Paladin & Colonel Josiah McEntyre
Edited on on Thu Jan 4th, 2024 @ 4:05am

2,526 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: First Deployment
Location: Unicorn - Main Bridge
Timeline: MD 0 - 16:30 HRs
Tags: 2156, Character Introduction

[ON]

The Earth-Romulan War was raging. One month ago, the Romulans attacked Berengeria VII and Earth Starbase Salem One. Travis wanted to be on the frontlines to support the war effort. The UES Eberswalde had been a fine Delta Wing-class ship to serve on; small, compact, easy to manage and handle. Yet it wouldn't have left the Sol system. If Travis would have wanted to support the war effort, he would have had to wait in earnest. Ships like the NX-01 Enterprise and her sister ships were already getting action. While Sol had experienced its fair share of action, particularly the Xindi attack in 2153 which the Eberswalde had been involved in as a defending asset, it was overall quiet and seemingly stagnant. Travis couldn't handle the waiting.

After his promotion to Lieutenant, Travis was adamant about serving the greater good. United Earth Starfleet complied with his request and just a month ago he learned his new posting was on one of Earths newest battleships, the UES Unicorn, a highly advanced Yorktown-class battleship. It would be a spectacular opportunity for Travis to excel and continue to advance in the service of Starfleet, as well as be given the chance to serve his people and comrades in a desperate time of war.

As the shuttlepod departed San Francisco on Earth, Travis was given a beautiful first-hand view of the UES Unicorn as she sat in orbit at the San Francisco Yards. He quickly pressed play on his personal datapad as he recorded the view. The drydock in which she sat in was enormous. She differed greatly in design from the NX-series of starships. Her engineering section had been moved below the saucer and her warp nacelles had been made even with the saucers with attached pylons mating to the engineering section. At the fore was her large deflector, which had been moved from the fore of the saucer down to the fore of the engineering section. Overall, the Yorktown-class lived up to its name as a battleship; large, imposing, intimidating, and highly advanced.

The shuttlepod arched over and across her saucer, moving between the port nacelle and pylon to slowly turn and move into the ships shuttlebay at the aft of the vessel. Once landed, Travis departed with his two dufflebags of clothes and belongings, setting them down to be greeted by a Ensign.

"You must be the new Chief Engineer!" greeted the rather chipper Operations Divison Ensign, by the color of their uniform. "Follow me, I'll show your quarters. Lieutenant... ?"

"Paladin," greeted Travis. "Lieutenant Travis Paladin. Very nice to meet you, Ensign. And you are?"

"Ensign Thomas, sir!"

Travis smiled as he was led a few decks upwards to his quarters. They were spacious compared to a Delta Wing-class. Almost like a five-star hotel! He had his own bathroom, work area, and bed. Privileges of being a Chief he supposed! He turned around after setting his duffle bags on his bed. Ensign Thomas was at his doorway.

"The Captain will see you now," Thomas said, still smiling, giving a nod. "I've got to get back to work! Welcome aboard, sir!"

"Thank you, Ensign," Travis said as he gave a nod back. A moment passed as the Operations Ensign disappeared. The door closed briefly. Travis was given a quiet moment to reflect.

After that moment and admiring the beautiful, pristine room he now had, he freshened up by splashing a bit of water on his face and drying his hair. He combed a bit before approving his presentation in the mirror. Leaving his quarters, he headed straight for the Captains Office. Once arrived, and approved entry after pressing a button, he entered.

"Lieutenant Travis Paladin reporting for duty, sir," He greeted as he stood at attention. "I am fully prepared to take on my station as Chief Engineer, sir."

Josiah stands to attention as well, extending a hand to the man.

“Stand at Ease, L.T. I’m Colonel Josiah McEntyre, welcome to Unicorn. Would you like to sit?”

He asked as he gestures to a chair aside the wall as he sits down again.

“I’m pleased you here. I’d requested to Starfleet one of their finest engineers and you were the one that was recommended to me. Chris Hale of the Eberswalde, gave a particularly glowing recommendation for you when I talked to him about you at the 608. He and I spent some time together during our Academy Years.”

Travis took the hand, shaking firmly, but respectfully. He gave a nod as he accepted the seat, making sure to sit after his Commanding Officer as a sign of respect. Even while sitting he still maintained a manner of straightness to his form. His blue eyes lit up at the mention of Captain Hale, however, and part of his lips formed a half-smile.

"You knew Captain Hale?" Travis said, his voice relaying his amazement. Then the realization of what really had happened behind the scenes registered to him. He felt humbled, remembering the old man. Chris was an excellent Captain and wonderful inspiration as Commanding Officer.

"I never knew you two talked, but I suppose that is not my privy," Travis said, but his voice did not relay any resentment, merely an acceptance and a humbleness to it. "Two months ago I remember talking to Chris - Captain Hale - about my desire to support the war effort. I knew the Eberswalde would never leave Sol. I wanted to contribute, use my skills for the greater good. Thank you for accepting me here, sir."

“Of Course, your record of service alone is a merit to you. The war effort needs you where the fleet thinks you’ll serve best. Unicorn is goin to be shipping out by end of week for Berengeria. I’ll need a top rate engineer to keep Unicorn at peek performance.”

He gets up for a moment, going over to a small table and retrieving a pot of coffee and two cups, coming back and pouring it before offering one cup to Travis.

“Unicorn is one of the first ships with the Warp 7 engine. She can hold 6.5 comfortably and has a top rated speed of 7.1 if we need it. I want to see if we can do better on that, not that Charles Tucker needs a kick to the ego…or he does. I just want to win a bet I got with the NX captains Archer, Hernandez, Styles and Baudelaire-Laurent.”

He sips from his cup

“Bet aside, I do want to see what Unicorn is capable of under the hands of a good engineer.”

Travis took the offered cup, saying, "Thank you sir," before sipping it as his Commanding Officer talked. He started to gather the bigger picture. Despite the compliments, Travis realized that his accomplishments were indeed with some merit. IT was hard for him to take credit on anything; Travis was a team player and gave back to the team. Taking personal credit was sometimes difficult. In this situation, however, it was clear he had earned his position. He quietly thanked all those who had supported him throughout his career.

"My grandfather was George Albert," Travis said after his CO finished. "He worked closely with the Warp 5 team under the supervision of Zefram Cochrane and Henry Archer. My early years was always spent with his new toys and tinkerings, showing me schematics and engine designs both proposed and rejected. My grandmother was Mabel Paladin, a dedicated astrophysicist who helped the Warp 5 team overcome the warp barrier hurdles. Both of them taught me invaluable lessons on those engines.

When I saw the live launch of the NX-01 I was thrilled! I knew my family had contributed to that. After my studies at Starfleet Academy, I got a chance to see earlier variants of the pre-5's on both the Warp Delta and Captain Hale's Eberswalde. What isn't known, and what isn't mostly shown in my record, is that I split trained from the Eberswalde to the NV-01 Intrepid. I got to see a warp 4 engine up close, train with it, and eventually help refine it personally. I was actually supposed to be transferred to the Intrepid later this year, but I think my discussion with Captain Hale changed all that."

There was a brief moment of silence as Travis contemplated the possible futures, then he continued after taking another sip of his coffee.

"Warp reactors are formally known as gravimetric field displacement manifolds. They're comprised of eight main components and are finely tuned to the smallest possible micron. Anything is off, anything at all, it could spell disaster. I actually had some brief correspondences with Commander Tucker concerning the Warp 4 engines - which were really Warp 3 Manifold Engines that operated on a slightly different premise than the Warp 5 Manifolds did. Charles helped me tinker the Intrepid's and eventually Eberswalde's reactors to produce more effectively. They never reached Warp 5, I admit, but they did go over thirty percent faster than originally intended - without blowing up.

Commander Tucker is a personal inspiration of mine. Despite any bets you may have, sir, and with all due respect, I wouldn't mind him winning over me any day. But I did learn some tricks of the trade from him and I have the advantage of family experience in the Warp 5 project, so his experience intertwined with mine? I could possibly give you..."

Another brief pause. Travis pulled out his personal datapad and accessed the Unicorn's schematics. He looked at the impressive and updated Warp 6 engine and thought on it for a few seconds. He then looked back to his Commanding Officer, serious-faced, dead-panned.

"I can give you Warp 8 as a promise," Travis said, no hint of sarcasm in his voice. "But it'll destroy the engine. Completely. I can do it, I'd prefer it as an emergency, but you'll be on impulse after. We just don't have the technology to cool the Manifold well enough to suppress the dilithum reactions and shield the ship. The reactor is embedded with safety procedures that keep it - or try to keep it - from killing everyone. I can most assuredly turn off all but the final safeguard. That final one is there to prevent an implosion - or explosion, depending - of the reactor. If I were to make it go to Warp 8, and I am sure I can, it will melt the interior of the reactor to the point of criticality. The systems will kill it, permanently."

Travis blinked, looking aside briefly, then shrugging. "Or I could kill us all. Anythings possible, but I know I can get you Warp 8."

Josiah stared at the man for a moment.

“You’ve just told me more about warp engines in five minutes than in my last year at West Point. Ramirez wasn’t joking.”

He blinks as he takes another sip

“Clearly from this conversation, that you know what you’re doing so I’ll say that your engine room is your engine room. You’ll hear nothing from me unless you’re doin something wrong. We’ll keep Warp 8 in our back pocket as our last resort “Oh Shit” solution.”

Josiah reaches into a desk drawer to pull out a jeweler’s case, opening it and turning it on his desk to show to Travis.

“This, was sent to me along with your orders here. As C.O of the Unicorn, I am pleased to inform you that Starfleet is granting you the rank of Lieutenant Commander for your service to the fleet and the advancement of engineering knowledge. Congratulations, and I know you’ll serve this crew well.”

Josiah stands back to attention.

Travis sipped most of his coffee as his CO talked. He nodded along, giving a half-cocked grin of appreciation, then sat rigid as he saw the jewelers case. He knew exactly what that was. His eyes darted between the case and Josiah. Back and forth, until the Colonel confirmed what he knew was going on. Travis stood with his CO, tears almost welling. He had just made full Lieutenant! It hadn't even been over a month since!

"Thank you, sir!" Travis said, that military drilled tone showing. His eyes briefly darted to view the Lieutenant Commander pips. "Sir, I .... sir. I ..."

He was hesitant to say it, but he knew he did not deserve this.

“I know that look. I got the same one when they made me Major. You feel like it’s too soon, you’re not ready for it. I get it, but fleet thinks that Engineering Sections should be ran by no less than a Lieutenant Commander. Aside from that stellar record of yours, I’ve got three captains saying you’ll be the next Henry Archer, Cochrane, or even the next Trip Tucker. Hell Aaron Stiles and I nearly came to blows over who’d get you, I won by the way, when I mentioned that he’d be at Andoria for the next few months anyways and you wanted a combat assignment.”

Josiah shifts the case closer to Travis.

“I know that you’ll do great things here and this is to show that you’re capable of doing it. Take it and if I can’t prove you wrong you can ask for step back, but I think you’ll find that they fit you well.”

In a brief, split second his facial emotions registered several changes. The mention of Captain Stiles and other officers vying and speaking on behalf of him had been astounding. Then it hid itself behind a professional, stoic expression. Travis' piercing blue eyes looked down to the jewel case, then back to Josiah. He nodded firmly, accepting the deal silently as he reached down and formally took the case. With that motion, he became Lieutenant Commander Travis Paladin. His father would be proud, but he could already hear the cautious words of expectation and responsibility. Words expressed from both his father and grandfather, carrying a gravity to untold fates and fortune - and misfortune, should he fail.

"I will do my utmost to uphold your expectations, sir," Travis said, confidently. "I have always managed my engineering department as a team. I do not expect to deviate from that here. One person is not enough, no matter how experienced, to achieve the goal expected for a team of individuals. I will work to let my people shine, so you can see them glow, and my proudest expectations are of them being recognized. I will also do my utmost to maintain and always have prepared your ship, sir. You have my word."

"I look forward to seeing your work, Mr. Paladin. You're dismissed, Lieutenant Commander, with the expectation that we're good for launch by end of week."

Josiah went to attention, saluting the new Lieutenant Commander, before Travis turns and leaves.
----------
Colonel Josiah "Josh" McEntyre
Commanding Officer
Unicorn NX-151

&

Lieutenant Commander Travis Paladin
Chief Engineer
Unicorn NX-151

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