The Plan (Meeting Time Pt. 1)
Posted on Wed Apr 10th, 2019 @ 11:38pm by Captain Luka Mahone & Lieutenant Commander Sofia Nikedoros & Lieutenant Theodore Winslow & Lieutenant Sera Williams & Lieutenant JG Shurlok & Oliver Stone & Diane Kent
1,398 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Deep Freeze
Location: Conference room, Command Center
Timeline: MD 01 : 1120 Hrs
It was on Davna's suggestion that Luka lured his senior staff in with promise of food; specifically danishes from the civilian-run bakery that the young ensign found in the town proper. And so it was that Luka had the ready room cleaned and prepared for what was going to be the first of many meetings on the colony.
With all the staff gathered around, and everyone fed and caffinated on the finest replicated coffees, the Commander deemed it ready to begin. First with the pleasantries, how everyone's department was doing, what they could all do to help each other out, but even he knew there was a looming disaster ready to strike. "We have an important matter to discuss. Most of us have been on the colony for over a week, and I've had reports come to my desk that the meteorologists are predicting alarming temperatures. And I know the Command Center may be still in progress, but even this amount of power outages is abnormal. What is everyone else's perspectives?" He needed a bigger picture before he could make a decision.
Piping up from her chair in the room, Sera began, "Sir, our current facilities will not be able to meet the power consumption demands." Letting her words hang for a moment, the Operations Chief then stated, "I would recommend setting up emergency shelter in a limited number of buildings. The civic center and Sumi's seem to be large enough to meet the spatial demands, and we can limit replicator usage to Sumi's under rationing."
"I'd suggest preparing a separate area in at least one of the those for anyone who becomes ill," Sofia put in. "With this sudden cold, plus the stress of unexpected difficulties, people will be more susceptible to various bugs and being packed together will make it more likely to spread. I expect we have the medicine to counter any dire consequences, but there's no need to contribute to the misery index."
Abnormal was not the word the security Chief wanted to use but it was the best that could be used aloud. "Sounds most logical to keep anyone unwell separate. How cold are we talking?" Theodore finally pipped up wondering if the equipment would be able to function if the temperature dropped that much. Some of his security Officers were not built for cold temperatures at all.
"Our weather satellite hasn't been completed yet but projections are that it will hit minus temperatures very quickly." Oliver began as he looked around. "I'd suggest the chapel be used to the sick and whatnot, I think folks will find it comforting to be under the watchful eye of some God. Plus I also believe that Reverend Nikedoros is doing a fine job in keeping spirits up as it currently stands. Guess it helps to know the Big Man..."
"Thank you," Sofia replied, inclining her head to acknowledge the compliment. "But I doubt I have any special influence. If I did, we'd be enjoying a tropical paradise here," she chuckled.
"In the event they are needed, the auxiliary craft we have been able to salvage could be easily converted into temporary residences, with the benefit of providing their own power and environmental systems. Theoretically, they could also be linked to augment the Colony's own power supplies, though additional supplies from the Io may be needed to that end." Shurlok suggested, as he checked the list of inventory that had not yet been repurposed.
"We could begin converting them into isolation chambers, temporary apartments, or axillary batteries very quickly," Sera added to Shurlok's comment. In truth it was a good idea, so she added, "That could cut our power consumption from the already spartan plan down another five to six percent, which would ease a significant amount of strain on our grid."
"The Civic center should be more equipped to be utilized as a triage." Luka thought aloud. "There should be supplies for that tucked away in the shuttle bay of the Io as well." He frowned, looking up from his PaDD. "Some of the crew are still housed in the Command Center. We should keep any crew housed there there to avoid crew members taking up space that could be utilized for the colony, or if it comes to it, for anyone who comes down with any illness that could spread. Lieutenants Shurlok and Williams, I want you to head the effort to reroute power and set this up before the cold becomes too cold."
Glancing over at the Chief Engineer, Sera replied with a simple, "Yes, sir." They were in for some long hours, she could certainly work with any power Shurlok could eek out of the power systems.
"Aye, sir." Shurlok responded a moment after Williams, beginning a text message to the crew he would need on his pad.
"Lieutenant Parks, I want you to work with the civilian science teams to see if we can predict exactly how bad the weather is going to be and when. They've been here longer, so they know the area, but another head in the mix couldn't hurt."
Oliver nodded in agreement, "I'll say to Dr. Xi to expect you Lieutenant. He hates being interrupted and I do believe his head has been in the proverbial weather clouds since this whole thing began. He has some ideas but right now has no concrete evidence."
After receiving a nod from the Science Chief, Luka continued. "Commander Nikedoros, without a head of medicine I'm going to put you in charge of readying any potential medical and morale needs. I'll come help as well. Situations like this are not out of my scope, and I'm not about to let people die of a little cold."
"Understood," she said with a nod of assent. She wasn't a doctor, but she did have experience - albeit experience born of necessity. "I doubt it will come to issues of life or death, but if need be, I have resources for advice on handling severe cold."
Luka gave pause, wracking his brain, before turning to the final member of the senior staff. "Lieutenant Winslow, I need you to make sure everyone has the staff they need. We're a little thin, but I think we can handle it."
The Security Officer raised an eyebrow but nodded. He didn't really have enough officers with sickness happening for patrol but he will make do. It was the kind of situation where you just did what you could and tried your best.
"Good. I'll see if anyone in the Command Center can help out as well. We have to make sure we are prepared for every possibility. And if we find out we don't need it, it'll be a rather pressing drill."
Luka put a hand to his right temple as he scanned through his notes. "We do have one final point of note to discuss in terms of the Io and the investigation of the vessel. Both Lieutenants Shurlok and Winslow have performed in-depth investigations, and I've asked Lieutenant Williams to comb through any operations logs on the matter. There are multiple avenues we can look at this from, but I think we can agree this is something we may have to table for after we determine the solution to our more immediate issue."
"Probably a good idea Chief, I'd rather not freeze to death down here before finding out what happened up there." Oliver added for no real reason.
"If there are any other concerns," Luka began, "Then I do have an open door policy, at least for the present moment. I would much rather know what the issues are than not know. Otherwise, dismissed."
Oliver smiled, it was almost like being in Starfleet again. 'Dismissed' he thought to himself, he was glad he was a civilian now but he had his own meetings to go to with the civilian heads of departments. The joys never ended.
"Lieutenant Williams," Luka gestured toward the gold-uniformed woman, managing to catch her before she filtered out the door with the others. "If you would please, stay behind so we could talk?"
"Of course," Sera replied as she placed her PADD back onto the table and kept her seat. She gave silent nods and the occasional smile to those who were exiting the meeting area.
TBC in Part Two
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