<div class="floatleft">(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNmQ5OGUyMmQtMmRmZS00MDc0LTlmMzUtZTgzMjY0NjE5NzUxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzQ2MDUxMTg@._V1_UY317_CR104,0,214,317_AL_.jpg)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong>Kroken Liara<br/><strong>Location:</strong>USS Redemption Engineering<br/><strong>Tagging/Mentioning:</strong><br/><strong>NSFW Warning:</strong><br/><br/>Rather than go to the ship the conventional way and board through the spacedock, Liara decided to go straight to engineering and get a head start before the new Chief Engineer came on board.  Her conversation with Chief O'Brien had reminded her of some issues she wanted to address before they started making plans to leave the spacedock.  The engineers that had looked over the<em>Redemption</em>after she was brought back from her shakedown cruise with engine problems were competent enough, but they hadn't helped build the engine and Lt Commander Robison, her team chief at Utopia Planitia had sent her a list of upgrades they'd worked out since they received the report back from the fault.  It was one thing for a team of engineers who had no investment in the capability of a ships engines to say they fixed everything, it was up to the engineering teams assigned to the ship that would make her fly!<br/><br/>"Morning Chief." Liara said smiling to the transporter chief as she stepped off of the pad and walked out into the corridor.  She navigated as someone who'd already a lived a year on the ship, quickly finding her way to Main Engineering.  To be fair, she'd studied the schematics for the<em>Redemption</em>as soon as she'd heard she was being assigned.  While she'd never been able to say she had an eidetic memory, she could see the ship in three dimensions with all of its technical breakdown like some exploded blueprint.<br/><br/><strong>"Good Morning Lieutenant."</strong>One of the older engineering Chief's greeted her when she walked into Main Engineering.  It wasn't a massive space like she'd seen on some of the larger ship, but it was intimate, a space she could enjoy working in.<br/><br/>"Morning Chief. How are we looking?" She asked as the senior technician handed her a PADD.  "Has the Cheng checked on board yet?" Her reference to the new Chief Engineer was from what she'd been told a holdover from the ancient 20th century navies.<br/><strong>"Not yet ma'am, you're the first officer we've seen all morning."</strong>The response wasn't a surprise really.  The<em>Redemption</em>was a brand new ship with a brand new crew.  It would likely be a day or so before all of the crew were safely aboard.<br/><br/>"Ok.  Then lets take a look at my baby." Liara said with a bit of maternal pride in her voice.  Of course she hadn't built this particular engine, but she felt a kindred attachment to it.  Walking into the main drive room her eyes lit up seeing it active and humming.  The soft flow of blue lighting running along the dilithium chamber and the energy pulsing out of the chamber like lifeblood to the rest of the ship sent a shiver across her skin.<br/><br/><strong>"You're baby ma'am?"</strong>She was sure that the Chief assumed Liara was trying to lay claim to some part of the ships function as a lot of young hungry officers are want to do placed in positions of power.  She gave the enlisted technician a teasing sidelong glance.<br/><br/>"I helped design this engine chief.  My last assignment was Utopia Planitia.  It was one of the reasons they wanted me on this ship.  Since she'd had drive problems during shakedown they wanted someone who knew the new engine inside and out."  Stepping up to the drive core, Liara placed a hand gingerly on the casing around the chamber.  "If tweaked out the right way, this little engine with all of her new tech, could put out three times the power output of the drive core on a Constitution Class Starship."  Which had been one of the reasons they wanted it on such a small unassuming ship like<em>Redemption</em>as their proof of concept.  Putting an engine of that capability on a Defiant-Class would only make people wonder if the Federation was arming up again after the war.  Hiding the engine on a diplomatic ship to work out the bugs would raise less eyebrows.<br/><br/><strong>"Understood ma'am."</strong>The older, taller man said with a nod and a grin.<strong>"So I'm guessing you have suggestions on how to modify her?"</strong>Liara nodded with a gin in her eyes.<br/><br/>"We'll wait till the Cheng arrives.  But until then lets make sure she's ready to fly."  Liara finally said turning her attention to the diagnostic consoles.  She was certain that the engineers from spacedock that had worked on her prior to their arrival were good, but she wanted to make sure.  The last thing she wanted was the ship sputtering to a stop when the captain was calling for warp.