Subject: Grail: "Last Look Back"; "Dizzying Effects"

"Dizzying Effects" Part II.

By: Lt. Kait Brennan.

<<Stardate: 47307.17- 12:45>>

"Let's start from the beginning, K'tel... How is a cloaking device normally

adapted?" Kait asked.

"Special purpose, or dedicated computers are programmed to handle huge

databases, and perform complex mathematical operations in order to provide

an accurate energy dispersal pattern," he replied. There was no emotion in

the statement and it was a great contrast to his previous tone of speech.

"So what's the problem?" she asked.

"We don't have enough power to maintain it."

"I do recall that a cloaking device could simply run off the power generated

by the plasma coils. What's wrong with that now?" Brennan questioned.

"There's more to this cloaking device than the ones I've seen. Not only

does it require more power but there seems to be... extra parts."

Brennan bore an inquisitive stare at K'tel until he punched a few buttons=

on

his tricorder and displayed an up-close image of the generator coils inside

the cloaking device. She merely shook her head at it and suggested,

"Perhaps we can get more information from the USS Indiana."

The resentful ensign whom she had pushed away earlier, warned: "If you want

to get to the Indiana, you'd better get moving! because the ship's about

ready to leave."

Get moving? Hurrying was completely unnecessary.

Kait tapped her comm badge. "Lt. Brennan to the USS Indiana."

The comm link opened, and Brennan continued, "I need all the technical

information you have relating to the Romulan ship. Can you send that over

for me, please?"

There was silence for several moments, then the response came slowly but

surely, "Just a moment..." Then: "Yes, it will take about fifteen minutes

to scavenge the information and have it sent over to you." There was

another pause. "Is that satisfactory?"

Kait replied, "Of course. Thank you." With that, the comm link was=

severed.

Meanwhile, Kait asked around for the tricorder that was used during the

mission to acquire the cloaking device. At first, no one seemed to think

that it existed, but Kait knew that Kestra Prynne would do everything by the

book, which included scanning the device before removing it.

The only two people with technical knowledge who were assigned to that away

mission, she discovered, was Lt. Prynne and Ensign Blake. Kestra was

injured, so she obviously didn't have the information, which meant that

Blake was her last hope.

Sighing, Kait tapped her comm badge. "Ensign Blake?"

Waiting for a response, which came as a "what is it?", Kait, not bothering

to ask if Blake knew anything-- because she was too tired to

bother--directly demanded: "I need you to bring your scans on the Romulan

cloaking device before it was removed from the ship."

There was some hesitation, oddly enough, before she replied, "Yes, sir. On

my way."

Kait cut the comm link, and rubbing her eyes, wondered how much time had

passed by since she had been standing in front of Sickbay, fully

rejuvenated. She felt totally drained now, and wouldn't have felt

embarrassed at all if she could've slept on the floor in the middle of

engineering.

Maybe it was time to quit with the work idea, and go to her quarters to get

some rest. Yet there was so much information she was about to receive on

the cloaking device and then there was all the time it would take to analyze

that information in order to put it to good use.

It seemed to mount high over her head, and she was willing to give it up for

today. It wouldn't be procrastination if she could pass the buck=85 but=

to

whom? Kestra would've been the best option since she was the one who got

her little joys out of spending hours pointlessly fiddling with weird

contraptions.

Why did she have to be unconscious in Sickbay? Didn't she know what an

inconvenience she was causing?

The turbolift doors, only 10 meters away, swished opened and Ensign Blake

exited out into Engineering. Kaitlyn motioned for Ensign Blake to proceed

towards Kait's direction.

As Blake approached Kait Brennan, Kait held out her right hand in

anticipation of Blake's handing over the tricorder.

Blake seemed distracted when she said, "I don't think there's really any

useful information in here. But if you want it, you can have it." Blake

handed over the tricorder, and waited a few moments before walking away when

she realised that Kait wasn't going to verbally dismiss Blake, but already

had done so mentally when she received the tricorder.

Kait Brennan, not taking notice of Blake's departure, paced around the=

area

while studying the information from the tricorder, which was most important

in its detailing of the energy influx/input into the cloaking device during

its attachment to the Romulan ship. The cloaking device did drain a lot of

energy, more so than even the energy-drainers of the early years. It was a

great benefit for the Romulans to have such a powerful source of energy,

even if it was severely dangerous. However, the Grail's warp coils were

not going to cut it when it came to powering the cloak...

A dizzy spell hit Kait and she carelessly tripped over her own feet, causing

her left thigh to collide hard against the console by which she had been

pacing. The computer made a few bleeps, seemingly in protest, and popped up

with a screen asking for her identification code. At the same time, the

familiar pain in her leg began to make its return in the form of a dull=

ache...

The computer bleeped again, repeating its request for an identification

code. Kait inputted hers in, only to be greeted with a failed

authentication dialog that stated only the Chief Engineer had access to the

files being transferred.

"Oh dear gods. Why do they do this to me?" she uttered aloud.

Despite the immediate frustration that resulted in her being denied access,

she soon grew quite pleased with the roadblock for the simple fact that it

was a good excuse to call it quits.

*Good night, engineering! because I'm as good as gone,* she thought.

Lt. Brennan, not having intentions of explaining her absence, walked over to

the turbolift. She wasn't even required to be on duty, so no one could

reprimand her for leaving.

Ensign Adran, standing close beside the turbolift, looked up at Kait

curiously as she approached.

Kait stopped to face Casia Adran and barely even looking up into Casia's

pretty-girlish face, Kait said in concise terms: "Have Lt. Cmdr. Hargen take

a look at that cloaking device, and tell her that there are some files from

the Indiana waiting for her."

Kait Brennan then stepped into the turbolift and commanded the computer to

set its destination for Sickbay. The reason for this being was so that she

could check up on Kestra's condition... and also, she was worried about=

her

deteriorating condition. It couldn't have been that long before when she

had felt completely healthy and now she was fighting an overwhelming sense

of fatigue.

The turbolift doors opened, and Kait walked down the corridor to Sickbay.

To her, it seemed to be quite a trek. The pain in her leg, which was slowly

increasing in intensity and spreading to her upper leg now, probably a

result of hitting against that console, did not even take precedent in her

thoughts or concerns; she wondered if the fatigue she felt was her body

trying to shut itself down. Maybe she was about to pass out... but last

time her thinking abilities had not been impaired, and it was only a cloud

of pain, hanging foremost in her thoughts, that had blocked out her vision.

It was not getting darker; it was getting longer. Time and space extended

her misery by exaggerating the length of the corridor and the time it took

to traverse it.

Walking into Sickbay, she realised that she must look like a mess. Kaitlyn

wouldn't have been too much surprised if she had dark circles under her

eyes. She was little worried about the doctor's condescension towards her

for being in such a condition, because she would've been happy enough just

to sleep and be free from worry about anyone's opinions.

It seemed making the trip to Sickbay for the purpose of visiting Kestra took

back-seat. Kait Brennan wanted only to receive some medical advice on her

condition, if there was one... and if she couldn't get that, she'd be=

just

as happy to have a pillow.

<OOC: Okay, now I'm finally ready for that new chapter! :) >

"What ye sends forth Comes Back to ye

So Evermind the Rule of Three

Follow this with Mind and Heart

Merry ye Meet and Merry ye Part...."