> > Lorin Renaud sitting up at night pondering the future of his long and
>distinguished career in Starfleet...
>
> His wife wasn't convinced the move was right but he needed a change...he
>still hung onto his Spacedock Command though, which was important to him.
>
> >Decided since it was making a turn for the technical. It had been a long
time >since he had set foot in an engineering department in a technical
role. Other >than the routine rotation as a cadet on training cruises and
the like....
>
> > 'Perhaps it is time to review some of the technical texts to review so I
am >not too stale...' he thought to him self, sitting a dimly lit room
>thinking. 'But where to start.... Well, let's start with a review of
curent >projects and decide from there....'
>
> >He found a varried listing of ongoing projects including:
>
> >Weapons Research: next generation of photon, quantum, and tri-cobalt
>torpedos. Projects Hummingbird, Drexel, and Lapis respectively. Project
>Shadow Killer was an ongoing anti-cloaking device project that had been in
>existance for over 80 years. All of these projects had not been really
making >headway lately, despite the large amounts of funding they had been
given, and >promises of great revealations made over the past few years.
>
> He noted this needed to be a top concern, especially with the new threat
by the felinoids.
>
> > Halographic Initiatives: There were several projects underway, all
related >and sharing staff and researchers, on how to better use halographic
crew. >Since Dr. Zimmerman's first on Voyager, the development of new and
more >advanced emergency replacement crew had been a priority. However,
great >debate (creating halographic beings) had also come to the projects
upon >Voyager's return with a sentient halo doctor. This unit had been
under funded >since the great debate over the morality of the project. Some
clarity of >mission was needed, or the nastiness controversy would engulf
Starfleet R&D.
>
> He was old school. Holographs were nice but should not compromise an
entire crew. This would receive minimal, but adequate support.
>
> > Medical research: Medical research was a hot topic in the Federation as
of >late. Many believed that the military had no place in medical research.
>However, Starfleet was both a military and a research institution. Some
calm >came to the debate when much of the medical research that Starfleet
was >transfered from R&D to SF Medical. Over the last several years more
projects >have been begun in R&D, adding fuel to this debate. Lorin could
tell that >this was one flash point that would get ugly if not dealt with
properly, and >quickly.
>
> (If it was transferred to medical how can it be a flashpoint????) Medical
would be contacted to see if they could offer appropriate, but minimal
assistance.
>
{OOC: much of the research was transfered, not all. This was in the
past (several years ago), but more research is currently being done by R&D
than in recient times}
> > Starship Design: there zero projects into ship design. A surprising
number >considering that the main vehicle of Starfleet was ships. Could SF
be losing >their technical edge or equivilancy to the Romulans, Klingons,
Cardassians, >and others???
>
> Lorin made this a primary concern.
>
> > Propulsion...: There were three projects, and all of them were heavily
>funded. Project Thumb was for alternative propulsion modes to warp.
Project >Star Hugger was into making warp and impulse propulsion safer to
atmospheres >and to space in general. Last was Project Thunder Clap.
Strangely very >little information was in the records about this project,
except that it was >maked classified Level 9e (special technical and select
members of SF >Command).
>
{OOC: one thing I forgot... Lorin did not get the details of the
Level 9e classified materials.}
> He had remembered several outlying worlds losing staff to misgauged warp
times when they truely weren't out of the atmosphere yet, however user error
can be corrected by better technology.
