Intro to the Slipstream

Posted on Sun Mar 9th, 2025 @ 4:49am by Petty Officer 3rd Class Dallas Reese & Lieutenant Commander Nash Winters

2,075 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Gone, Without Ever Knowing the Way
Location: Chief Engineer's Office

ON:

A "Slipstream Specialist" is what he'd trained for and became. Not a Transporter Specialist like his original plan had entailed. Somewhere along the way, Dallas had found learning about the Slipstream at the Academy was actually quite interesting and he was happy when he got his preferred posting as a specialist for it on the Astrea.

Having been assigned his quarters and stashed his bag in them already, Dallas made his way down to check in with the Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Commander Winters, who was presently in his office. Even after wearing uniform throughout the Academy, it still felt foreign to him to wear, and he fidgeted slightly before pressing the chime to announce his arrival.

Nash was cleaning old files from his computer when he heard the door chime.

“Come on in,” he said casually.

A youngish-looking male officer, mostly resembling a Vulcan, stepped through the door to greet the Chief Engineer.

“Ah, you must be my new specialist. Come in, come in. Have a seat. No need to stand on ceremony here. Nash Winters, Chief Engineer. Glad you’re here, to be perfectly honest. The slipstream drive has been giving us headaches from the word go. Tell me about yourself, Mister…..um….Crewman……”

"Reese. Dallas Reese," Dallas responded as he took an offered seat. "I've just come aboard in the last few days, heard that you were away until just recently, and have just come to check in with you now. Safe to say this is my first assignment, but I was a civilian bartender on a ship previously so I'm already familiar with the layout." He wasn't sure what else needed to be included in that statement.

“Bartender, huh? So you know the best bourbon for an old fashioned….,” Nash said lightheartedly. “Welcome aboard, Mr. Reese. Now I have two rules. Show up on time for your shift and call me Nash. I know there’s a chain of command and protocols that go along with it, but I’ve always preferred a certain informality, even with those under my command. Now I do run a tight ship, no pun intended. We have a good team here. You should fit in seamlessly.”

Nash did have a PADD with Reese’s transfer order that indicated his slipstream specialty. “I see that the slipstream drive is your ‘bread and butter’-a human expression. You’re part Rigelian, right? How did you end up as a slipstream expert?”

"That's a lot of questions to answer at once, but thank you for the welcome," Dallas admitted, getting comfortable and crossing his ankles, "I am half Rigelian, yes. You'll have noticed that we are extremely similar to Vulcans in a lot of ways, except for their lack of emotional responses." He grinned at Nash, "We are very emotional people in more ways than one."

"As for being a slipstream specialist, I wouldn't say expert as of yet," Dallas continued on, "It wasn't my first choice. I, uh, had a few issues back when I was a bartender and as a result, I actually wanted to join and do something with transporters. It didn't work out that way, obviously, but I liked the challenge of learning something complicated and it in turn fascinated me."

“Yes, I noticed the, um….” Nash smiled and pointed to his own ears. “Don’t worry about getting up to speed on the slipstream, Dallas, we’ll show you the ins and outs of the system. It’s got its own personality, if you will, its own quirks and so on. Your willingness to learn will help. I can probably get you some hours on the transporter, too. One can never have too many skilled technicians. You may want to stop by the Quartermaster’s office. You’ll need utilities for the messy repair jobs. Maybe some extra duty uniforms if you need it.”

Nash stood and shook Reese’s hand and led him to main engineering. “Let’s take a walk to see the slipstream and I’ll give you a quick once over. Glad to have you, Mr. Reese. Can never have a big enough engineering crew as far as I’m concerned.”

"Thank you, Nash." Dallas nodded as he followed his Chief around, "I think some extra uniforms would be ideal, if I'm being honest. Just while I get used to everything, I mean."

As they made it to main Engineering, Dallas thought it might be agoodtime to bring up an issue, "I do have a, uh, an admission of sorts to make. I'm not sure if you would have read it in my file or not, but I currently have guardianship of my younger cousin who's eight, so I might run into a few issues with him but I promise it won't affect work and being on time."

“I know how you feel. I have two children myself. But it also helps that I have my wife on board. We get to raise them together and keep the family intact at the same time. Be there for him. If you need assistance if any kind, I’m sure the Captain can accommodate you. The Captain and I have known each other for some time and she takes care of her crew. That I can assure you.”

Nash and Reese made their way past the warp core to where the slipstream drive was situated. “Here we are. The quantum slipstream drive. After months of simulations and testing, it was finally approved for operation. I actually was the project director for this latest version and update. Ties in directly to the main deflector, which generates the quantum field that shifts us out of normal space-time.”

It was a relief to hear him say something so positive about family, but that was a different conversation for a different time, "A person can only run so many simulations and train on the holodecks so much for something like this, but it's quite impressive to be seeing one working in real time." Dallas commented as he looked at it, "Can I ask how you ended up becoming project director for this update? I'm really looking forward to being able to learn a lot off you, by the way."

“That’s kind of you to say…and it’s a privilege. To make a long story short, I spent a couple years at Utopia Planitia heading the slipstream project. It was modeled after the Prometheus-Voyager encounter. When the opening came up here on Astrea, serving with then-Commander Johansen, I couldn’t pass it up.”

Dallas nodded again in reply, "I've heard a lot of good things about both the Captain, yourself and this ship. It was one of my first choices to get posted here, so I'm definitely happy to be here." Hopefully he wasn't being too forward by saying that.

“Now you’re just buttering me up. Let’s get to work, kid.” Nash laughed out loud and keyed in his security access code to show Dallas the monitoring station.

"If I was buttering you up, I assure you I would have come with a good bottle of scotch or similar in hand," Dallas replied with another grin before he went back into a more professional mode, "This would be the monitoring station, correct? I should have access to this as well, right?"

Nash laughed out loud. “Ah, you’ll fit in just fine, Mr. Reese. For future reference, I like bourbon. Back to business. Yes, this is the main monitoring station for the slipstream. There is a secondary console by the warp core. Both systems can be maintained at the same time. You’ll have access to both, in addition to the power distribution network. Warp control systems require additional security access, which you do NOT yet possess. Impress me and we can talk about it.”

Nash walked Reese through the basic protocols for maintenance and diagnostics.

“Here’s where the upgrades and updates come in. Normally, the quantum field produced by the deflector has to be monitored and adjusted in real time or the field would collapse and the ship would be thrown back into normal space. Not anymore. The ship’s computer does the work. Compensates and keep the field stable.”

"Is there going to be anyone monitoring this on a regular basis, or is this all being run by the computer itself?" Dallas felt like he should have asked if this could be recorded so he could get a better understanding of what he'd be doing and do some more study on it.

“I’ve tried to keep all stations down here fully manned. So the short answer to your question would be yes. There’s no need to sit here and watch the monitors. The automated system built into the computer will alert you if something goes wrong. You’ll always have something to do down here; have no fear, Mr. Reese. You won’t ever be bored.

"Being bored means more time to think and therefore overthink, and it's usually downhill from there," Dallas said with a bit of apprehension in his voice. He always tried to keep himself busy these days and Aiden from Operations did just that, but it was when he was alone that the overthinking began. "But I'll believe there's always something to do, like you said. Once I'm up and running with this, will there be any additional duties required of me?"

“I’d rather not overwhelm you too much right now. I’d like you to get to know how we do things around here, get yourself into a routine. Make some friends, talk to people. For better or worse, you’re part of the family, now, bubba,” Nash said, trying to assure his new officer.

“There’s an opportunity for some cross training in systems analysis and diagnostics, if you’d be interested. I actually conduct some of the training myself. I find that there’s an advantage in having a well rounded team. Especially in a pinch, like if we’re shorthanded or if long hours creep up on us. Think about it. We have a good crew here, Dallas. Don’t hesitate to ask for support if you need it. There’s plenty to go around.”

"Thank you for that, sir," Dallas said with a nod, "I think cross training would be a good idea. Let me know when you're considering holding the trainings and I'll be there."

“Don’t mention it, Mr. Reese. I think I can get something scheduled in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, I’ve downloaded some material into the console on the upper level. Mostly reference modules and so on. You can check it out as you need it. Why don’t you make yourself familiar with the quantum field calibration equations? Station Two Alpha. They bring the whole system together.”

"Understood," Dallas nodded again. "Is there an expected time frame you would like me to have all this completed by, or is it just more of a learn at my own pace kind of thing?"

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much, Dallas. Self pacing is sufficient for now. Just try to work on some of it every week. We can follow up together. I know you probably haven’t met the whole engineering team, but they’re a very accessible should you run into any problems. Briscoe is my number two, then there’s Carmichael and Green. Can’t forget Crewman Ronnie. He’s a jack-of-all-trades. Knows a little about everything.”

The idea of spending some one on one time with the Chief sounded really appealing to Dallas and he found he was looking forward to learning a lot from him. "Got it, I'll be sure to catch up with all of them and make myself familiar. Is there anything else I need to know or anything else you require of me at the moment?"

“Actually, come up to the upper level with me. It’s not slipstream related, but I think it’s a learning opportunity for you. It’s time for a diagnostic of the injector ports. I’ll show you what to look for and you can assist,” Nash said.

Dallas enthusiastically followed Nash to the elevator and they both went to work on the upper level.


OFF

=========

Lt. Commander Nash Winters
Chief Engineer
USS Astrea

PO3 Dallas Reese
Slipstream Specialist
USS Astrea

RSS Feed