Atmospherics

'Elenah, I have found a problem.'

'With the mapping software or with the sector of space?' Elenah is getting used to Numbers' finding ways to constantly improve the software they are using.

'With the station. There's a construction problem in the civilian hub.'

'Well, I think they have engineers working on that hub, Numbers. I know it's hard to let go but this is your work now.'

'No, not to do with my design. There's a problem within the construction. I am reading high levels of a mix of gases, almost like an atmosphere, venting into the area but there is nothing there, just the StarVale hub. It makes no sense.'

'Like an atmosphere?' Elenah joins Numbers at his console and swiftly runs an eye over the figures displayed on the screen.

'Some of these gases are not present on the station normally. Look at this, this spike here. Then gone, now another one there.' Elenah is as puzzled as Numbers at the strange readings. 'This is a novel composition. I haven't come across this before…' Numbers continues, scanning through his database of the atmospherics associated with Starfleet construction sites.

'I think we should pass this one on to the Commander.' Elenah taps her coms button and asks for a secure link to Commander Pierce. 'I think we have found a new anomaly on Sentinel, Commander.'

'So soon after the last one?' Pierce replies, sounding slightly distracted.

'No, no this is very different.' It is a…is that an alarm I can hear?'

'Yes, there has been a collapse on one of the civilian construction hubs. No casualties so far but no one can track down the Chief Engineer so I'm heading out there now in her place.'

'The civilian hub in question, it wouldn't happen to be StarVale would it?' Elenah can feel the hairs on her neck prickle at the thought the collapse could be due to these new gas vents.

'Yes, it is. Guessing from your tone, your anomaly is out there too?'

'Yes, Commander, we are getting some very erratic atmospheric readings, as though a gas is being vented into the hub at random points but we don't know how. Numbers is trying to find a possible rationale but, it could be behind the collapse.'

Commander Pierce ends the call as he reaches StarVale. The place is in chaos. Sirens wail and lights blink on and off, chaotically lighting up the collapsed structures inside the hub. A whole section of apartments seems to have collapsed onto another. Pierce makes his way through the teams of construction workers clearing rubble and equipment to where he can see what looks like a makeshift command centre.

'Ah, Commander Pierce, thank you for coming, I was hoping it would be the Chief Engineer though. We could do with some of her technical expertise. I'm Brodale Soame, in control of construction out here for Makeship Inc.'

'We are trying to locate the Chief for you. Any casualties?' Pierce shakes Brodale's extended, fleshy hand, while all around is noise and confusion. Brodale is clearly not in control of much at the moment.

'No, we are under a strict three shift rotation quota, pay negotiations with the unions mean that today was a scheduled downtime. No one on site.'

'Have you had any unusual atmospheric readings at all in the last few hours?'

'Atmospherics? I have no idea! Hey, you! Get me Haalsen, she would know about climatics.'

Pierce steps back slightly as Brodale organises a group of construction workers, watching the way he works with growing unease. He had no idea the civilian side of Sentinel was so chaotic. No wonder the construction was suffering with delays. Brodale, now flushed in the face from yelling at his team, turns back to the Commander. 'Haalsen is our health and safety surveyor. She'll be the one with any readings!'

Haalsen's pager shrilly beeps into action as the alarm call for the collapse on StarVale is triggered. Geena Haalsen sleepily reaches for it on the small locker next to her bunk pod. She blearily opens her eyes and reads the message, only to be jolted wide awake by the message. 'Structure collapse StarVale, immediate assist required.' She leaps from her bunk and scrunches her shoulder length hair into a company hard hat, pulling a safety suit up over the t-shirt and jog-pants she was sleeping in and, after grabbing a bottle of 'FruityNutri' from the drinks dispenser in the canteen, jogs to the nearest inter-lift. A few minutes later she is at the StarVale hub, staring in shock at the chaos all around.

Numbers checks the readings again. There is something very strange going on in StarVale. 'I should get these readings to the science officer.'

'You can just send those readings up to the bridge. The science officer can deal with them. Now back to work Numbers, the universe won't map itself!' Elenah firmly reminds the young Borg of his duties and Numbers nods in agreement and routes the information to the bridge.

Swayla T'Vayne stands, legs slightly apart, hands clasped behind her back, surveying the crew on the bridge from her vantage point near the science officer's console. It was nice to have the bridge to herself, while the Commander deals with the commotion out on StarVale, now the sirens have been silenced, it feels as though she really is in charge. As she watches a file arrives onscreen from Numbers, blinking URGENT in the corner of the Science Officer's console. 'Officer Tidmarth, please open the file!' Swayla commands, unable to comprehend how often humans can ignore the word 'Urgent' on files.

The science officer on duty quickly opens the file with a flick of her index finger over the screen and a list of chemical compounds scrolls down the screen.

'Atmospheric readings Mam, from… from inside the space station… but that doesn't make any sense?' Tidmarth points to a few of the compounds. 'These appear to be new gases… this is most irregular. It appears we have pockets of a highly unstable new atmosphere being created… created in the StarVale hub!'

'In the civilian hub? Could it be responsible for the collapse?'

'Mam, without plotting the atmosphere pockets against the area of collapse it's hard to know… they appear to be randomly generating across the area, we should let the Commander know. The construction workers will need breathing apparatus for some of this…'

'I shall let the Commander know. You work out how this could be happening.'