(no subject)
So much for the romantic dinner I had planned.
Oh, chakotay and I still enjoyed a candlelit dinner, complete with champagne. The setting and the food (vegetable biryani, looks like whatever was wrong with my replicator has been resolved) were perfect. The mood, well, that's another issue entirely.
Instead of discussing being home, plans for after our return and the inevitable Starfleet review boards, we found ourselves going over technical data. _tom_paris_'s holographic simulations--23 attempts, 23 failures--and the resulting 0.42 variance each time cannot be ignored. As Chakotay said, if we attempt to engage the slipstream in the morning, we'll all be in escape pods by afternoon. Neither paristorres or seven_of_nine were able to come up with a way around the fact that 17 seconds into the slipstream all hell breaks loose. And yet, harrykim argued quite persuasively to go ahead anyway.
His plan is actually quite clever. Map the thresholds of the slipstream as it's forming from the Delta Flyer, and send phase corrections back to Voyager. The Flyer will only be a couple of seconds ahead of the ship; there won't be much time to react. But with a skilled pilot, it's not impossible.
*If* we take this option, I will probably keep Tom at the helm of Voyager and send Harry on the Flyer with Chakotay. Harry is supremely confident he can get the corrections to us in time, and Tom is likewise convinced that he will be able to react within the extremely limited time frame. Considering that Tom is the one who discovered the variance problem, his belief in the viability of the plan ('riding the rapids') is a major point in favor. Harry, on the other hand...
I know that Harry is a good officer; his service to date has been exemplary. And I know he truly believes he can compensate for the variance. He is also correct when he states that the Benamite crystals have already begun to degrade. If we wait much longer, it will become impossible to use them--and we have not been able to secure a new source for replacement crystals. It's basically now or never if we want to use the slipstream drive. But I know how much getting home means to Harry, how much he's been looking forward to it. I don't think that this overwhelming desire is *consciously* overshadowing his judgement, but I can't be sure. And I will admit, in the privacy of my own journal, that I wonder about the 'purity' of my own motives. I *am* leaning toward Harry's plan; I'm not ready to turn my back on our getting home, not just yet.
Chakotay is still here, in the outer room; I'm just snatching a few minutes to record this entry while he's clearing the table before dessert. We'll be discussing the slipstream and whether or not to chance it. I value Chakotay's input greatly, and I hope to arrive at a decision soon.
Oh, chakotay and I still enjoyed a candlelit dinner, complete with champagne. The setting and the food (vegetable biryani, looks like whatever was wrong with my replicator has been resolved) were perfect. The mood, well, that's another issue entirely.
Instead of discussing being home, plans for after our return and the inevitable Starfleet review boards, we found ourselves going over technical data. _tom_paris_'s holographic simulations--23 attempts, 23 failures--and the resulting 0.42 variance each time cannot be ignored. As Chakotay said, if we attempt to engage the slipstream in the morning, we'll all be in escape pods by afternoon. Neither paristorres or seven_of_nine were able to come up with a way around the fact that 17 seconds into the slipstream all hell breaks loose. And yet, harrykim argued quite persuasively to go ahead anyway.
His plan is actually quite clever. Map the thresholds of the slipstream as it's forming from the Delta Flyer, and send phase corrections back to Voyager. The Flyer will only be a couple of seconds ahead of the ship; there won't be much time to react. But with a skilled pilot, it's not impossible.
*If* we take this option, I will probably keep Tom at the helm of Voyager and send Harry on the Flyer with Chakotay. Harry is supremely confident he can get the corrections to us in time, and Tom is likewise convinced that he will be able to react within the extremely limited time frame. Considering that Tom is the one who discovered the variance problem, his belief in the viability of the plan ('riding the rapids') is a major point in favor. Harry, on the other hand...
I know that Harry is a good officer; his service to date has been exemplary. And I know he truly believes he can compensate for the variance. He is also correct when he states that the Benamite crystals have already begun to degrade. If we wait much longer, it will become impossible to use them--and we have not been able to secure a new source for replacement crystals. It's basically now or never if we want to use the slipstream drive. But I know how much getting home means to Harry, how much he's been looking forward to it. I don't think that this overwhelming desire is *consciously* overshadowing his judgement, but I can't be sure. And I will admit, in the privacy of my own journal, that I wonder about the 'purity' of my own motives. I *am* leaning toward Harry's plan; I'm not ready to turn my back on our getting home, not just yet.
Chakotay is still here, in the outer room; I'm just snatching a few minutes to record this entry while he's clearing the table before dessert. We'll be discussing the slipstream and whether or not to chance it. I value Chakotay's input greatly, and I hope to arrive at a decision soon.