Post by Admin on Mar 31, 2016 5:56:39 GMT
Cheerio, Chairio
Postby DeirdreMcGowan » Sun Sep 21, 2008 10:05 am
Deirdre had slept well that night, thanks to a tummy full of tacos and a light head from the margaritas. Strolling into Main Engineering in a fine mood, it improved even more as the duty report from delta shift left her with a blank slate. She'd be able to finish her contemplations on the captain's chair improvements without interruption. Settling into her office, omnipresent mug of steaming tea close to hand, she pulled up the file she'd started on the project. With a practiced eye, she reviewed her previous entries quickly but thoroughly.
Most importantly the power conduit running under the chair would need shielded, which would require not only removing the current chair from its slot, something that would have to be done anyway, but the deck plating surrounding it would need taken out. Thankfully, routing extra wiring for the improved LCARS interface would require that access as well, so she'd only have to cast one stone for those birds.
Having looked over the schematics from the new Galaxy Class CC, Deirdre wondered why they didn't add more features to the new seat. The large stripe missing from the back of the chair certainly couldn't help with lumbar support, and there was no provisions to program the chair for the current occupant's preference. There were a few new buttons to be pushed on the arm console, but in functionality it still left a lot to be desired. The three main seat plus two half seat arrangement of the command area practically left a canyon on her scalp from all the associated head-scratching, but that was a layout issue and she wouldn't have to worry about that, thankfully.
She vowed silently to herself that when she had the new seat installed on her ship, it would be better than the Galaxy version. Just because the Aquarius was older didn't mean that her crew couldn't spruce things up here and there. Luckily, while a bit of a chore and would probably take at least two full shifts to complete the changeover, she wouldn't require a refit or a new bridge module to do it. It would, however, require exacting plans to make sure the event ran smoothly.
The first order of business would be to add some programmable features to the chair. Even before warp drive, engineering pre-history as far as Deirdre was concerned, they'd come up with those creature comforts. Some actuators and servos in the back and seat so that it could mold to the occupant's buttocks and back. She would add in a new database to store the data so that it could be recalled with the touch of a button. She imagined Quintus, who seemed to like things to be pleasant from Deirdre's study of her, would appreciate both the comfort and the convenience.
Though the bridge was climate controlled to the last molecule, she would add a heating/cooling system to the chair. While the current command team probably wouldn't use it, it would certainly be a rude hand gesture to the starfleet designers who never seemed to take different species' backgrounds into account. Should a Vulcan ever have to sit in that chair, even he or she wouldn't be able to deny the logic of warming one's buns instead of having to stoically deal with the “cold” temperatures.
Additionally, she would add in another set of mechanics so the chair could be raised or lowered to the occupant's desired height level. While there wasn't a great deal of difference in stature between Quintus and Le-Gran, she imagined that eighth of a meter and the associated difference in leg position could become uncomfortable after a while. Even the old Excelsior Class side-station chairs at least had a pneumatic height adjustment, and she couldn't fathom why the permanent chairs couldn't have the same functionality in much newer starships.
She'd keep the swiveling action, though she would try to smooth it out a bit and decrease the friction coefficient. The current headrest is unmovable, so she would make that adjustable and add that to the occupant settings for easy recall as well. She would use the latest molecular configuration of the “memory” foam as well for the padding.
With comfort taken care of, she now considered the functionality aspects of the chair design. Captains just love information, Deirdre knew. so it seemed like a good idea to add some sort of LCARS interface to the chair. She would add it on the right side of the arm, and use a hinged design so it could be tucked away when not in use. She imagined that the primary use would be to read and consider data, and perhaps make a notation or two. If heavy-duty composition were in order the Ready Room served better anyway, so she would concentrate on adding a high resolution viewer and just enough context sensitive inputs around the periphery to suit whatever situation might come up.
She would keep the easy access buttons on the arm of the chair itself, though she would move them to the left side so they wouldn't be inadvertently pressed when the occupant used the LCARS interface on the right. She'd recess them slightly more as well, as the current design could lend to inadvertent presses as well.
Another safety consideration she pondered would be to add, in the very least, a lap harness, though she actually felt using the arms themselves would be a more elegant solution. She could hinge them and add a locking mechanism to hold them in place as they were swung inward to keep the occupant from flying into the main viewscreen. It would add some complications into the design itself, but she felt it would be worth it.
Safety, comfort, functionality: everything a Starfleet Captain could want, and everything a Starfleet Chief Engineer could hope to provide on her own, making the Starfleet designers look bad in the process. She doubted the proposal to modify the chair would be denied, though she knew the refit of it would have to be fit in during slow cycle between missions. It wouldn't do to have the Captain holding onto the rail for dear life during a battle scenario, or to have a gaping hole in the floor on screen during a diplomatic scenario.
She saved her latest notes in the file before exporting the feature list and upgrade specific information to another. After doing a few calculations, she added in that she and her team could expect to have the new chair ready for installation in twelve to sixteen days, depending on whether she had to stop work on it for more important tasks. Installation would take ten to fourteen hours, she concluded. Sweetening the pot by reminding Quintus of the last explosive problem with the chair that put the Captain in sickbay and how the new design would curb that problem from happening again, she sent the file off to Quintus for review and approval.
While she waited for that she could get started on the chair. She exported the materials list onto a PADD and exited her office, grabbing Truelight on her way through Main Engineering. He would be a crucial component to the build, as no one better than perhaps herself was present in her department in interface implementation. She'd get him started on the LCARS terminal while she hunted up the materials to start work on the frame itself.
It was good to have something new to do.