The Astrometrics department was bogged down with various projects. -- Starbase Rugby: Astrometrics

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Date Posted: 15:25:40 06/26/01 Tue
Author: Boeckle
Subject: The Astrometrics department was bogged down with various projects.

Boeckle was trying to keep track of all of them while focusing on not a single one of them. To do otherwise would hamper down one of the excellent scientists and would take away any managerial project overview which he was trying to maintain. Ever since he had been promoted to this position he has been struggling to find the balance between manager and scientist.

Sometimes he couldn't help it. Sitting down with one of his once-peers and work on a solution to some complex mathematical algorithm or perhaps come up with a different equation which still addressed relativity while considering all of the extra elements known about the universe today. Those were the moments he lived for, dreamed of. He woke with numbers and chemical compounds running through his mind and the closing thoughts of the day were exactly the same�and not one bit of boredom in the entire cycle.

But that was for fun�this, this was work. In one station, engineering's request to try to develop some sort of trans-warp technology (without using trans-warp) was being brainstormed (personally, Boeckle thought it was an exercise in futility so he made sure to keep a couple of particularly bright Ensigns working on the project with one of the more veteran scientists). In another station Operations had decided that they would like weapons with a wider dispersal yet further range while maintaining less collateral damage. Astrometrics did not, of course, work on weapons development, but the science involved in creating such particles (while addressing that equally strange-behavior) was a project that required some of the most theoretical and brilliant minds in Rugby. The Astrometric scientists did not mind getting their hands dirty with practice simulations in the holo-rooms or actual "live" set-ups. Blasted, they didn't mind taking a walk down to the labs and asking Reed a few questions. One never knew where a good idea would pop up from. At a third station, the Corridor was still being studied.

The Corridor was a rotating project in Starbase Rugby. It was the one lane of traffic, leading to the Core, which sped up a trip tremendously. What was so strange about it was that the Corridor did not use Trans-warp tech�it was a natural occurrence. Some of the Nebulans have described the Corridor as a dry riverbed--the path remained but the river was long gone.

Which begged the question�what river?

For this and hundreds of other questions the Corridor was furiously studied. And not only for posterity, wisdom and science. Operations made it a point to constantly request new information concerning the Corridor. They seemed to be of the persuasion that "if you can't understand it, it can probably kill you."

They might be right, but, they could also be wrong. As a true scientist he was open to either option and made sure that his scientists kept the upmost care when studying the natural spacial phenomenon.

Of course, daily concerns bubbled up as well. Recently, engineering had come to Astrometrics help in discussing nebulas, singularities and other spatial-phenomena as a potential reason why many of their gears had suffered from an energy spike or dip. Nothing fatal or out of the ordinary. This was, after all, a Starbase station which had hundreds of thousands of persons drawing power from it's resources at any single time throughout a twenty three point ninety eight hour cycle�energy dips and spikes were not surprising. In fact, this wasn't the first time that Engineering had called on Astrometrics help with such explanations. They were a good department with a good department head, and they made sure to report to the Higher Ups every possible reason for the spikes. If toilet flushing and energon pumping were mentioned in the explicit report, spatial distortions would not be left out either.

But these reports and studies coupled with the duties of making sure Rugby didn't drift to far center of the system while address countless other scientific concerns�there was just too much work to do to have any fun.

Boeckle went to his desk while the long quiet SB-IGPS (Star-Base Inter-Galactic Positioning System) behind him added to the humming sound of his office. He looked at the stack of datapads on the corner of his desk and took the first one�a report on extra mathematical exponents traveling through Rugby's networked data-packets. He tagged that one for engineering. He could decipher code, but the piggy-backing probably meant that information was once again doubling and causing a network repeat. Engineering would have to fix it. He also made sure to forward a copy of the data-pad to Intelligence�it has long become habit that if something occurs�even if it's normal, one must forward to Intelligence.

He reached for a second data-pad wondering if he should have McDonald's for lunch today or perhaps have one of those tasty sandwiches from Starbucks. While considering lunch, the SB-IGPS beeped twice.

He paused.

That has never happened before. Oh, he remembered the buzzing sounds emitted by the computer�he wasn't department head back then. He distinctly recalled all of them, the entire Astrometric department standing in silence and fear as the single computer buzzed. Buzzed. Buzzed.

Each buzz a Starbase that was either attacked or closing down because of retreat.

Later on, the buzzing came every now and then as the military was disbanded from those stations.

But those two beeps. That meant only one thing.

A Starbase had awoken. It's ID-T had sent out a signal to all the other Starbases. A message stating clearly but with not so many words: "I am here. I am alive. I stand with you in battle."

Boeckle turned wondering which station was up. Wondering if it was a computer malfunction. He saw it then. Basically Sector 2-3, depending on how you saw it. Mid-sectors really. Next to the Corridor�a key strategic point.

This he quickly forwarded to Intelligence, Engineering and Operations�they all would want to know this immediately.

Starbase Bastion was alive.

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Boeckle stepped out of his office to notice that his hands were shaking. -- Boeckle, 15:54:25 06/26/01 Tue