regulatingpressure | + engineering info (ataraxion)

+ engineering info (ataraxion)

ENGINEERING

a division of the operations department the hottest mess this side of alexandria

functional overview. As can be surmised from the name, engineering's primary purpose is the monitoring, maintenance and repair of the engines, machinery and structures of the Tranquility. The duties of the engineering crew are thus as diverse as the systems and necessities of the ship: from monitoring all life support systems to verifying fuel usage and distribution, to priming the systems prior to every jump, among many others. Everything is far more advanced than most have seen so there is a learning curve even for the hard sci-fi characters. The workload is high enough ( and the workforce generally a skeleton crew ) to keep those signed up plenty busy.

job technicalities. Technically speaking, engineering comprises the entire ship. Taking into account only the engineering complex itself and the engines, it remains the biggest department on the ship counting eighteen decks to its name. It can be accessed via the orange lifts. Engineering primarily monitors and attempts to ensure the proper functioning of: the environmental systems - climate control. air flow and filtration. artificial gravity. the power systems - the electrical grid. the fusion reactor. the back-up generators. the jump - ensuring everything is primed and ready pre-jump. More information on the different locations and a list of available supplies can be found here. As of the 34ᵗʰ Jump, the title of Chief Engineering Officer passed to the playable characters and all those signed up to Engineering found their access greatly expanded. Following is a brief description of these changes: True to layout engine schematics from the ship's origin, including auxiliary thrusters. Layout of the power routing throughout the ship, however these schematics are only of the routing and not of specific ship locations. More extensive and accurate diagnostic systems providing specific information on general performance ( including power generated and power usage ), suggestions to improve performance, as well as greater facility in locating problems and malfunctions as they occur. A remote view of any area in the engineering complex, and much of the power distributed throughout the ship. Access to storage (located near the Engineering Complex) containing further replacement parts and tools. The aforementioned tools are in keeping with what's already rigged up in the ship, only newer or with items for recharging/refueling and/or replacing worn tool parts. While most of the complex is now accessible to characters officially signed up, the Jump Drive remains inaccessible with one significant difference: the access panel now gives a different response if the Chief Engineering Officer attempts to access it — an error message. Others will continue to receive the previous warning for attempted unauthorized access. Regarding the mysterious center of the ship, the new live power routing map will show general low usage there and be very glitchy on accurate readings. Occasionally it will pick up sudden surges of demand in unknown locations in that area. Characters who pay close attention over a good period of time will notice these; they are rare, short and fluctuate in location.

engineer lyfe. Current head of the department is Raven Reyes, and the unofficial second-in-command (by her personal preference) is Leo Fitz. The department operates under a very loose hierarchy where a combination of seniority and experience is favored, but it's pretty rare that anyone has to pull rank in an official way so it rarely comes up. Overall, the mood in Engineering can be described as 'laid-back but efficient'. Nobody's cracking any whips or giving you stink-eyes for not working 'til you drop... But conversely, if anyone lets things slip and she or one of the other senior Engineers has to pick up the additional slack, Raven will zero in on who did it and some definite words will be exchanged. Such things as banter, eating, and even playing a casual game of cards are fine on the job as long as attention's still paid to the monitors and nobody gets anything slick or greasy. Music's acceptable, but if you're on a 3+ person shift and your partner hates what you're listening to, don't be the dick who just turns it up louder. The only absolute 'no's offhand are drinking on the job and sleeping on the job. Shifts are 8 - 11 hours on average, but that leaves 13 - 16 hours out of the day to get your sleep. No matter how low their numbers get, each shift in Engineering is comprised of at least two people unless an extreme emergency dictates otherwise. A two-person shift includes a scanner and a runner. These are unofficial titles, a quick way to make sure that at any given time, one person is observing the monitors and the other is out making manual checks of everything under their jurisdiction that can possibly be checked in some manual way. This may seem redundant - why have someone running around checking things that someone else can tell you is just fine without lifting a finger? But the trouble with the good old TQ is, at least half of the major emergencies and system malfunctions can only be detected by manual checks, reading completely fine on the monitors as if laughing that anyone even bothers to watch them. So... one scanner, one runner. They're free to trade off as they please, as long as we've got one of each at any given time. Additional people on shift can fill whichever role they want, honestly. Wherever they'd be most useful. Relatedly, many of the people Engineering is gathering are much more skilled in one area than the other. For example, Dean Winchester can fix things and run manual checks a hell of a lot better than he can stomach staring at a computer for hours on end. On the other side of things, Skye (who isn't officially with ENG but pulls some shifts) is almost exclusively a monitor girl. If you leans one way and get along well with someone who prefers the other, you can count on getting put on shifts with them more often than not, just for efficiency's sake. However, those who do have a strong bias still have to learn to effectively perform all facets of the job, even if they don't have to exercise that knowledge regularly. It doesn't matter how much they struggle with picking it up. Raven'll see to it personally, even if she has to lose sleep to make it happen. Trainees as well as the newest members work in conjunction with a more senior Engineer as they acclimatize/prove they won't blindly touch every blinking red button. If your character proves to be an asshole, their permissions will be revoked. So play nice.( And do let us know if your character wants to be an asshole! We are an easygoing bunch open to any plotting that complicates our characters' lives. So don't be afraid to shoot us a PM or PP! ) Most of the toys in engineering can only be used by someone officially signed up to the department, and for security purposes, Arya was known to further restrict access to schematics and systems as was merited by the situation. Raven has since been somewhat more liberal with them, though as soon as that turns around to bite her in the ass, she'll lock that shit up in a hot second. Really, as long as nobody does anything stupid with the intel their job in Engineering grants them, everything should be fine. To officially sign up, fill out the text form here. Note: if your character is not officially signed up, they are not considered a member of engineering and cannot access anything in the department without a member directly allowing them access at every step. If you play a member of engineering, leave a reply here.

miscellany. Many of the Engineers also have quite a bit to offer one or more of the other departments, and vice versa. When crises arise, engineering works closely together with the flight crew, for example, in order to alleviate the chronic understaffing. Even outside of emergencies, as their tasks are in many ways similar, it is not uncommon to see members of either department taking shifts in both. If you'd like your character to take shifts in Engineering despite belonging officially to another department, please leave a reply here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

<blockquote><big><big><big>CHARACTER NAME</big></big></big> 
comm number ‣ <a href="LINK TO CONTACT POST">OPR » XXX » XXX</a>
scheduling conflicts ‣ No actual schedule is being made, don't worry. This is just a section where you mention, if they're an official Engineer, whether or not they're pulling shifts elsewhere in their off hours or have other pressing commitments to attend to in their life. If they aren't an official Engineer, where do they work? Do they take shifts in any further departments? How often can they be expected in Engineering?
experience  ‣ Describe in as much or as little detail your character's previous experience and/or skills
other notes ‣ <blockquote>‣ what is your character like at work
‣ habits/attitude/whatever
‣ do they bring doughnuts with them y/if no get out</blockquote></blockquote>

RAVEN REYES
comm number ‣ CEO » 034 » 099

scheduling conflicts ‣ she repairs shuttles and teaches folks how to space-suit in her off-time, but engineering always has her first priority.

experience ‣ actual literal rocket scientist. youngest zero-g mechanic in 52 years back on the ark. experienced explosives craftsman. engineer here on the tranquility since jump 35, chief engineering officer since jump 39.

other notes ‣
‣ first and foremost, since it's very noticeable: she walks with the use of a leg brace spanning from her foot clear up past her knee. if she's on the monitors for a long shift, there's a decent chance she'll take it off, and if she does, it's plain to see that there's not much voluntary function in or below her knee.

‣ she's an extremely driven worker, taking more hours than is necessarily healthy just to make absolutely positive shit gets done. you get the definite feeling that throwing herself into her work is how she copes. copes with what? that's something you'll have to ask her yourself.

‣ despite being so work-minded, she's decently in general, and can sometimes be found making jokes (often the dry kind) while on the job. don't mistake that for slacking, though - she is 110% focused no matter what's coming out of her mouth. as a note, this last month (2/15) she's been unusually lacking in the dry humor department, and noticeably less sociable too. but it's fading as time goes on. she's pretty good at getting on with shit that way.

‣ while her rank as head of engineering has pulled her more toward the center of the team, she's been shown to prefer projects she can work on by herself. she likes people well enough, but she also has trouble shaking the 'if you want it done right, do it yourself' mentality that got her so far in canon.

‣ jasper jordan (trynotodie) drops in decently often. he doesn't get in the way. in fact, most of the time his only real talking is to ask keen questions about what she's doing. you get the definite sense that he's kind of her unofficial apprentice on this shit... and on most things, really.

Dean Winchester
comm number ‣ OPR » 037 » 172

scheduling conflicts ‣ Dean will soon enough be jointly working for both engineering and Security, but since Security has plenty of manpower unless it's a real emergency, he'll be prioritizing Engineering simply because they're so short handed.

experience ‣ Back home, Dean was a truly impressive auto mechanic. He can take apart and rebuild an engine, hell, he can and has rebuilt a car from the ground up. That includes internal components, welding and bodywork, as well as interior and exterior design. Apart from being a skilled mechanic, he also has experience in repairing standard 21st century electricity and plumbing. He's been studying under Raven's strict and comprehensive tutelage for a few months now, and learns quickly.

other notes ‣

‣ Despite Dean's typically laid-back or sometimes sarcastic attitude, he truly is a hard worker. He picks up on things quickly, especially things involving mechanics / structure, so he focuses all of his attention on learning to complete a task until he masters it and then will do it without prompting whenever an issue arrises. He can often be found pulling extra shifts or spending a little extra time on a job just to make sure it's done completely, totally right. Chances are if there's a mistake, it's either because of something out of his control, or it sure as shit wasn't him that caused it.

‣ Dean will mouth off to anyone any time unless it's about a serious job-related issue. He can be seen giving Raven some sass, but when it's business mode he takes orders like he's practically a soldier and pulls them off without question. He likes to josh around with whoever he's working with that day, and will probably develop a fun rapport with his scanner counterpart. Especially if aforementioned counterpart doesn't want a rapport.

‣ If he's doing routine maintenance or repairs, he can often be found with his MP3 player and portable speakers lingering on the nearest available surface, playing the greatest music of all time: Led Zeppelin. Or, you know, other such classic rock, but never Nickelback.

‣ From time to time, Dean might have one or two visitors. Typically his brother Sam only stops by if it's about something urgent, choosing instead to let him work in peace or contact him over his comms device if it's something relatively time sensitive. John Blake also stops by with a little more frequency, sometimes bringing him lunch or consulting with him on some matter that requires consultation from both Engineering and Flight. The two can often be seen teaching each other some department-necessary skill or task. As Blake's a very orderly, rule-observing sort, he's never a real distraction on the job and is often willing to lend a helping hand where he can.

Edited 2015-03-01 14:31 (UTC)

MARCUS ROTHSCHILD

comm number ‣ OPR » 038 » 112

scheduling conflicts ‣ Marcus splits his time between Engineering and drinking—this is relevant because it means that if he is not working, chances are he's not in a state to cover anyone else's shift or respond to an emergency. Sorry in advance.

experience ‣ He has never worked with his hands before, ever, but he's great with numbers and smart when he tries. He joined the department during Jump 38.

other notes ‣
‣ Boredom makes Marcus lazy; challenges perk him up. On a day to day basis he shows up and does what he's supposed to do, but nothing more than that, and is prone to being a little obnoxious and dickish and acting like he's above everything. Chances are he's tried to pass work he considers boring on to your character at least once. Probably twice. But if he's given something to puzzle over or an emergency gets his adrenaline going, he's a much better person.

‣ He's almost 40 years old. That's on the older end for the ship and the department. He'll take orders from kids, but he'll probably look kind of amused by it, like he's playing along for fun instead of because he actually thinks he has to.

‣ He does not bring doughnuts and if you want to kick him out for that, go right ahead.

MARTY MIKALSKI
comm number ‣ OPR » 039 » 172
scheduling conflicts ‣ Marty spends about 50% of his work time as a technical engineer, and 50% of his working time in the gardens harvesting foods and helping with the technical maintenance there as well. But if he's needed, he can be wherever he's called on for.
experience ‣ Dude went to college for this shit and is actually pretty good at it; he spent his prior year here learning how the technology worked, and currently has a firm understanding of the wiring in the doors, locks, and etc. He's not the best at computer software (he's decent but nothing special and not your go-to guy for it), but mechanical details are his thing. He's able to rig an elevator to move to his bidding in his canon with exceptionally good time. For a stoner he's pretty chill and smart and stuff. Makes up for the munchies and paranoia.
other notes ‣
‣ Marty is super crazy easy-going and a jokester of sorts, enjoys making people laugh and not taking everything super seriously (unless they're all about to totes die). He definitely will bring y'all his potato chips. But he's at least decent enough not to smoke a TON of pot at work, okay. He has to keep his mind sort of sharp. He's pretty much a functioning alcoholic, except he smokes weed. TOLERANCE BUILD-UP WOOO. Also he'll play horrible 90's and 00's pop and rap while he works in the department. Sorry.

Stiles Stilinski

comm number ‣ OPR » 030 » 024

scheduling conflicts ‣ No conflicts here. He took some shuttle lessons for emergencies from Raven, but that's about it.

experience ‣ Had some previous experience construction elaborate pranks of some engineering merit. May or may not remember how to make a shrapnel bomb thanks to the nogitsune, but he's not talking about that.

other notes ‣
‣ had to basically learn stuff from the bottom up when he started ten jumps back because let's face it, putting together a few elaborate pranks ~~and one bomb~~ does not prepare you for working on a spaceship, but he's basically graduated from trainee position to something a bit more reliable by now.

‣actually pretty good at monitoring the equipment, and his specialty is absolutely multi-tasking, but more than once he has been gently discouraged from playing runner because he kind of runs like a baby gazelle and there are a lot of limps to look out for and just no. sitting him down at a bank with several monitors tends to work best.

‣ stiles is totally the donut guy and has probably made buffy cracks about it with very limited success for how many people get his jokes but it's tough being the comedic relief okay, he's learned to deal with it.

Jasper Jordan

comm number ‣ CPO» 034 » 100

scheduling conflicts ‣ Actually the head of Physical Sciences, but he hangs around engineering pretty often anyway because Raven. Sometimes he puts in a bit of time with shuttles too, but most of his time is split between sciences and engineering.

experience ‣ aside from a bit of combustion knowledge, nothing before Raven got her hands on him, but he's a fast learner and she's a good teacher and he's basically jump started a landing ship before on his own so there's that.

other notes ‣
‣ usually only around when raven is there, but on the off chance that you can't find raven for something, jasper almost certainly can find her for you.

‣ pays keen attention to everything going down in engineering and his expertise tends to lean more towards the mechanical than with the monitors. usually in a friendly enough mood and open to joking but sometimes he thinks bombs are funny so just. there's that, yeah.

HARRY POTTER
comm number ‣ OPR » 039 » 042
scheduling conflicts ‣ harry is a trainee, he has no other formal commitments! however, much of his time is dedicated to studying the equipment and contemporary science. also, if magic-related issues do arise, he will be called away to those.
experience ‣ harry is an unlikely fit. he is a wizard, and a powerful one, but that means he's been out of the loop with even the physical sciences of his own time-- circa the 90s. his powers do, however, give him a couple weird advantages, such as being able to summon for equipment, or even transform (transfigure) a given object to another. he is a good listener.
other notes ‣
‣ when he is at work, harry is hard-working, curious, and bright, if not singularly ingenious with technology and any particular field of sciences, the way that many of his companions are. his perspective is inevitably colored by his experiences with magic: when he offers creative suggestions, he comes from a place of intuition and final effect; when he is studying, he does this this through repetition and relies upon reading.

he carries his wands at all times, defaults to minimizing physical contact, and seems like a rather quiet person, despite being sociable and funny in a britishy way. one may get the impression that he spent much of his life not being spoken to. he tends not to sing or make a nuisance of himself, but will easily fall into it if invited.

he arrived with a number of interesting wizardly objects, that you may or may not be inclined to have a look at! he may in fact arrive to work on a broom, and has a wizard camera to share for fun. his supply of every flavored jellybeans may last for some time. we may also have to do a scene where his animate candy winds up running amok some point. chocolate frog, anyone?

Edited 2015-03-07 21:04 (UTC)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

+ engineering info (ataraxion)

m e m b e r s.

raven.

Dean

marcus

Marty Mikalski

stiles.

jasper.

harry potter