Stardate: 71208:1142
Title: Power Down
Author: Lieutenant (JG) Remmick
Time: After "So Much For Specialists"
Scene: USS Horizon - Ops Suite, Deck Five


The lithe starship touched down like the kiss of a snowflake. Cochran had won Remmick's grudging respect... but, in the landing, they'd lost power to the port nacelle and the EPS system had tripped out. The auxiliary network had kicked in, and now Remmick was at the Master Systems Interface.

"Switching all systems to emergency override. Bring online the local generators. Cut the EPS and the Auxiliary Grid out."

As the engineers worked, the great starship began to die. Consoles and viewscreens all over the ship dimmed and blanked out. The landing alert - blue lighting throughout the Horizon - was cancelled, and then even the ambient lighting began to fade as more power was shut off. A coldness gripped the crew as the environmental controls were switched to the lowest settings.

Remmick's face was an impassive mask but, underneath, helpless rage fought with despair as his hands killed off his ship. The battered primary systems that ran the Nova-class ship had to be de-activated wherever possible, allowing the warp core to recharge and the EPS system to be restored. All was not lost though; soon, the fusion generators that normally served the impulse drive began to distribute their wealth throughout the ship. A normal atmosphere returned, but the lighting was still at emergency levels and many secondary and tertiary systems were in their stand-by modes.

[Remmick to Bridge - we're now at power-conservation status. I'm limiting the available power to the ship so we can recharge and repair as fast as possible. Please try and limit the demands you place on our supplies - we can barely spare enough to take off again. I'm coming to the Bridge, if you have any queries. Remmick out.]

Closing the channel abruptly, the Engineer turned to his staff. "Priorities are clear, gentlemen. Restore Main Engineering's viability, and concentrate all resources on EPS and Warp systems. If our history is anything to go by, we'll need 110% resources before we can get home. Good luck."

His technicians hurried away, and Remmick felt a surge of pride for his colleagues - they were trained, motivated, and hardly ever questioned his orders. Admirable qualities in any staff! Exchanging awkward thanks with the Ops Duty Officer, Remmick left his temporary home and headed for the Horizon's flight deck.


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Lieutenant (JG) Marc Remmick
Engineer
USS Horizon
NCC-72400
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