Lt. Daniel Rain ran through warp calculations mentally while he waited for the computer to finish its analysis on the particles he was studying. The equipment was sorely insufficient, and the lab was entirely too small. But he was alone and had his research. Thanks to distress beacon the ship was responding to some kind of medical emergency. Although Lt. Vossk had mentioned in his department briefing a few minutes ago that things may be developing with the situation that would require more of Danny’s attention. For now though he had time for his current work. He wished he had more complex machinery to work with. It would accelerate his study in artificially stimulating decay in protons via topological defect fields. Nevertheless simulations would have to suffice for now. At the least it would give him theoretical data with which he could construct the foundations of deeper hypothesis in his theory. If he was right the possibilities for clean, heatless, self sustaining power source equal to a standard matter/anti-matter warp core would improve exponentially. 

“Computer, Alter lab parameters. Create a stellar environment with 1 gas giant capable of brown dwarf classification.”

The lab dematerialized and the black vacuum of space appeared all around him. Set before him the looming spherical sprawl of a planet that looked similar to Jupiter minus its distinctive brown and red swirls. He needed the ability to zoom in and out on demand. 

“Computer assign zoom in and out functions to a pinch and spread gesture with my right index finger and thumb. Confirm.”

“Confirmed. Zoom in and out functions assigned to the pinching and spread gesture of your right index finger and thumb.”

Danny tested it a few times and nodded. Good. “Computer. Set specifications for jovian planet: Magnetic Monopole in low atmospheric gravity.”

The system chirped as it reconfigured the necessary settings, and then he zoomed in deeper and deeper until baryonic matter was almost as large as he was. The result was a phenomena that was similar to the Van Allen belt of Earth, only a multitude more powerful. His goal was to observe protonic decay occurring faster than the standard time allotted. The gravity well of a gas giant was nothing like the gravity well of a black hole, but the gravitational affect should be more noticeable. As well as the focal lensing of time. Namely the semi-relativistic effect on the proton and it’s decay. 

Danny passed the next few hours managing the simulated time parameters and configuring the settings more until finally he was able to catch one in the process of decay. He watched as the particle radiated an extreme burst of light for several seconds. His head canted to the side. On its own the phenomena was barely worth mentioning. But what if he could funnel lots of particles into a chamber lined with photovoltaic sensors? As a one for one generation system that would create energy, but what about storage for peak usage? 

He leaned back mentally brainstorming particle storage containers and transference cables that could feed excess particles into storage to prevent the proposed system from burning out. He realized the more he was theorizing the more he’d begin to need the hand of engineer. Danny frowned. That meant drawing more people into his research. He made a note to visit the chief later to discuss the possibility of assigning someone to assist him if she wasn’t interested herself. He didn’t know her that well. He didn’t know anyone well beyond his own brother and he barely knew Tiberius. They’d never been what anyone would consider close.

For now he could satisfy himself with theoretical designs until someone with more knowledge could tell him what was and wasn’t possible. He had the lab create him a stylus that he used to draw a design and had the labs holographic system make a 3d model. He built the design with power generation and propulsion in mind and the design reflected that, with a rounded conical housing and a fly wheel that could spin augmenting magnetic particle manipulation. If his theories held up, these could be mounted in place of impulse engines or alongside to assist with sub light maneuvering and propulsion. The excess power generation could also be back fed into the ship to assist other primary systems or even take the load off the warp core. There was of course the obstacle of figuring how to mix electrical power within the EPS system since that relied on a different power medium. Something to confer with the chief with about. He made a few more notes regarding merging the power feeds into one source since running a network for an all new power source felt time and resource prohibitive. 

When Danny finished he had a viable simulated system that in theory could be used to either augment the ships standard propulsion and power generation needs, or fully replace it all together. The prospect of a power system that would in theory be more safer than pumping pressurized electrically charged plasma throughout the entire ship. 

Danny cut the gravity in the room and allowed himself to drift upwards with a slight rotational spin. Tapping an index finger to his cheek in thought as he mulled over possibilities. Perhaps there was a way to rig up a converter to feed the extra energy into the plasma network directly? Or perhaps the storage containers could be dual purpose capacitors as well. Capable of storing and feeding power? That might depend on materials and integration issues. If particles could be stored for use, there was nothing saying the inverse couldn’t be done either, with a massive shunt of them. He started running through the numbers. If particle generation was accelerated along with a forced dump of stored reserves it would be possible to accelerate power output by up to three times the normal parameters. The drawback being that depleting the storage reserves would leave systems weakened afterwards until storage parameters were equalized again. Still, such a significant boost could prove useful in tactical situations. He made a note to bring it up with his brother later. 

“Lt. Vossk to delta shift, I’ve got a project for you. Meet me in lab 2.”

Danny sighed, and reactivated the gravity plating slowly so that he returned to the floor, and reconfigured the lab to standard again while saving his progress and notes to review later for his report. He knew that since this wasn’t a dedicated science and exploration craft it was unlikely to expect movement on his research, but he’d still make the proposals all the same. He would try until someone listened.