Giving the Tour [for losthunter]

[boldygoing]

It has been a week or two since the Enterprise was in any kind of condition to entertain visitors. A supply run here, a survey mission there, nothing close to casual enough for Captain Kirk to justify setting aside a little time to have a guest aboard, his days taken up by the duties of command. And certainly not out in the middle of deep space, where an unexpected visitor would be more likely to be seen as a stowaway or intruder, no matter if the captain vouched for them or not.

But it has been six months since the crew's last chance for shore leave, so after the debriefings are complete, Starfleet Command gives the slightly weary crew a brief three days off while the ship's systems are inspected and recalibrated. And it's a perfect opportunity to make good on his offer from a while ago.

Jim sits at a shuttle terminal in downtown San Francisco, a gold-shirt in a small sea of red and blue, all Starfleet personnel waiting to be taken up to various starships in orbit or in Spacedock. He knows it might be a few minutes before Hunter arrives, and keeps himself busy reviewing reports on a padd, keeping an eye out for the distinctive tattoos of his invited guest.


[OOC: Image links to replace invalid links below:
Spacedock
USS Enterprise
Warp core
Officer's lounge]

Comments

[boldygoing]

In Jim's opinion, mere pictures really would never do her justice. There's something about her, almost a presence, that mere visual representations would never capture. She's his beautiful leviathan, a shining silver shape against the black, a sleek and graceful creature of the stars. You have to see her to truly see her.

And he can tell that Hunter does.

It's almost a shame to steer the shuttle towards the back of the ship, and the open bay doors that await them there. But the only thing better than seeing the Enterprise from the outside is standing within her beating heart, and he's eager to return to her embrace.

Jim sets down inside the ship, parking Copernicus flawlessly in the space marked out for the shuttle, and pops open the hatchway. Inside the shuttle bay is somewhat similar to the aesthetic one might find in a submarine, a wide open space ringed by metal gantries and catwalks, and a half dozen other shuttlecraft line the walls in their designated areas. There are few personnel present, almost exclusively wearing red shirts, and almost no one looks up at the arrival of Jim and Hunter's shuttle.

[losthunter]

Hunter moves back into his seat, so he is sitting by the time that Jim is parking the shuttle inside of the Enterprise. He looks around the shuttle bay, as much as he can, once the hatchway is open.

He doesn't immediately feel the warm embrace of the Enterprise, yet. But he is still a stranger to her. And not as acquainted as her Captain is.

Once again, he spots the red shirts, and has to resist the urge to ask Jim about their significance. "Time to start the Grand Tour?"

[boldygoing]

"Absolutely." Jim grins and spreads his arms slightly as they step out of Copernicus, using the shuttle's nacelle as a step down to the deck. "This is the shuttle bay, obviously. The Enterprise has ten in total, but there's a couple out being re-certified right now. Most people just beam back and forth, but there's nothing exciting about starting a tour without even seeing what the ship looks like."

[losthunter]

Hunter follows him down to the deck.

"Beam?" He asks softly, still a little nervous about being overheard.

[boldygoing]

Nobody seems to be paying them much attention, at least. A pair of red-shirts approach the shuttle with scanning equipment, ready to make sure the shuttle is shut down and stored properly. Jim doesn't seem terribly concerned about them either, though he does lower his voice slightly, out of deference to Hunter's caution. "It's called a transporter. It converts your body into a stored energy pattern and rematerializes you somewhere else. It was invented to move cargo around but it's been safe for people for decades now."

[losthunter]

Hunter blinks a few times. Taking his time to comprehend what Jim just told him. In a way it seems impossible. He has seen people 'teleport' using magic... or even a special skill. But for science to come this far...

"Wow. That must save a lot of time."

[boldygoing]

Turnabout is fair play, it seems. But Jim doesn't laugh at Hunter's disbelief, just nods a little. "Yeah, it does. We can't use it every time, though. Beaming next to a high gravity source or through an ion storm isn't possible, and there are factors that can make it riskier. But honestly, it's still safer than flying in a shuttle or driving a car."

[losthunter]

"I would have to take your word on it." It won't be something that Hunter is anxious on trying right now, not until he understands it better.

[boldygoing]

"Yeah, I expected that," Jim says, but smiles at Hunter to show that he doesn't mind. "Honestly I probably shouldn't be explaining too much about our technology in detail, but I don't think twenty-first century tech would be up to replicating it anyway."

"Come on," he says, waving Hunter ahead, continuing the tour. "Main Engineering's this way."

[losthunter]

"You have one advantage that I am no where close to be a scientist, that I couldn't explain it, even if I tried." Hunter chuckles lightly.

"So before we get there... what do the colors on the shirts mean?"

[boldygoing]

Jim has been around Starfleet his entire life, in one form or another, so it hadn't even occurred to him to explain. "Oh, that's the three specialization divisions. Red is for operations, which includes security, engineering, and communications, among others. Blue is for science, and gold for command." He holds up one hand, so Hunter can see the stripes on his wrist. "These are for rank. Generally the more stripes you have, or the bigger the stripes are, the higher the rank."

[losthunter]

Hunter will gladly take this opportunity to guide his fingertips over the stripes that decorate Jim's uniform. "And everyone who wears a shirt like this, is working for Starfleet in some fashion?"

"There were a lot of people boarding shuttles..." It sort of blows his mind that one organization could employ so many people.

[boldygoing]

Since Hunter is inspecting Jim's sleeve more closely, he may notice that the two outer stripes are noticeably wider than the thin middle stripe, explaining the remark about the rank stripes being different sizes sometimes. "Yeah, everyone wearing this symbol is Starfleet," Jim confirms, tapping his other hand against the golden arrowhead on his chest.

He smiles a little at Hunter's other comment. "Enterprise's crew complement is four hundred thirty-two, including myself. Not everyone down there was one of mine, though. Probably a third of them are Enterprise crew heading home for shore leave. Potemkin and Minnesota just got into Spacedock this morning, so chances are good they make up the bulk of the rest."

[losthunter]

His fingers lightly trace over the larger outer stripe, before moving to the smaller middle stripe, and finally to the last larger outer stripe. "You have a sexy little sandwich going here...." He smirks.

"That is incredible. We don't really have any businesses that employ that many people all at once."

Sorry if link is funky, let me know if it doesn't work

[boldygoing]

"Rank hath its privileges," Jim says with a slightly dirty grin. "But if you think this is sexy, you should see what our dress uniforms look like." Ah, perhaps one day.

"Not even your military?" he asks as they resume the tour, heading through the blast doors that welcome them into Main Engineering. It's a bit busier in here, again crewed by mostly red-shirts, work on consoles or inspecting enormous coolant tanks that tower from floor to the top of the high ceiling. In the center of the room is a massive white structure shaped roughly like an upside-down dome, thrumming enough that they can feel it through the deckplates under their boots.

worked fine. <3

[losthunter]

"Mmmmm something to fantasize about. You. A dress uniform. And your sexy Captain's voice."

Hunter tilts his head, then nods slightly. "I guess I didn't think about the military about being an employee. But they do provide a career for hundreds of people."

He looks around Main Engineering, and has to stop at the large coolant tanks that tower over him. And then, the upside-down dome. He sort of tilts his head, as if trying to figure out what it is. He can feel is thrumming underneath him.

"Is that the ship's engine?"

[boldygoing]

Jim also nods. "Starfleet's more like the merchant marines than a military navy, but a lot of the structure's similar."

And of course he has to point out minor features here and there, but Hunter's question draws attention to the most prominent part of Main Engineering, the whole reason for the party in the first place. "Not the engine itself, but the power source," he says, nodding towards the structure. "That's the Enterprise's warp core. Without that, we go pretty much nowhere."

[losthunter]

"A warp core." Hunter repeats. By the confusion in his voice, it might be evident that this is something else that he has never heard about.

[boldygoing]

"Matter-antimatter reactor," Jim explains further, and as they circle around the massive structure, Hunter might catch sight of a transparent door leading inside the warp core, the familiar symbol for radiation etched into the surface. "It's a lot more powerful than the nuclear reactors of the twenty-first century, but also safer," he adds, hopefully forestalling any fearful reaction to that news.

"It's the primary power generator for the whole ship, but more importantly, it's what makes faster-than-light travel possible."

[losthunter]

"Wow..." Hunter keeps his eyes on the warp core as they circle around the massive structure. And he is glad to hear that it is safe to be so close to it, even with the radiation symbol etches into the surface of the transparent door.

"And that is how you travel to other planets quickly?"

[boldygoing]

Jim nods, and begins to lead Hunter towards what looks something like a futuristic elevator, and the door slide open at their approach automatically. "The warp core powers the nacelles, those twin structures you saw on the back of the ship. They generate a subspace bubble that distorts the fabric of space, and that bubble basically gets flung through space with us along for the ride."

When the lift door slides closed, Jim says, "Deck Nine." There's no physical sensation of motion, but lights speed past the transparent parts of the lift, and when the doors open, they're greeted by a white circular corridor that curves away to both sides.

[losthunter]

Hunter follows Jim into the futuristic elevator. He doesn't see any buttons to press, and was beginning to wonder how they move, when Jim speaks and suddenly the lights speed past the transparent parts of the lifts.

"Is there any sensation of that distortion of space?"

[boldygoing]

"Besides the engine vibrations, no, not unless something's broken. The physics are kinda complicated."

The corridor seems to loop around in one massive circle, with straight corridors cutting through like spokes on a wheel, leading further inward or outward. "I figure we'll skip the more boring parts of the ship," Jim says with a grin. "Unless you really wanna see storage and laundry."

[losthunter]

"While I am sure I could find ways to make those 'boring' parts of the ship less boring... I would really like to see as much as possible today." Hunter chuckles.

[boldygoing]

Jim has to agree. He doesn't skimp on the bits of the ship that they do tour, however.

One thing that seems consistent in this part of the Enterprise is the shining white and silver interior, more modern and futuristic than the somewhat submarine-like aesthetic of Main Engineering. The brig takes it to an extreme, a large circular room with recessed cells built into the walls, blocked from access by a clear, seemingly-solid wall. It's empty at the moment, thank goodness, and the desk at the center of the room is crewed by a single red-shirted crewman, who nods politely to the captain and his visitor as they pass through.

After the brig, Jim takes Hunter around to the science labs, where any personnel present seem to be clad in blue, and there are multiple experiments in progress. "Don't ask me specifics on what they're doing," Jim says with a chuckle. "Every science department on the ship has access to the labs, and we've usually got anything from xenochemistry to theoretical physics being tested down here."