Checking Out Engineering

Posted on Tue Dec 22nd, 2009 @ 1:15am by

876 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: POWERING UP THE STATION
Location: Main Engineering
Timeline: Current

ON

Deck by deck, rung by rung. This was a huge starbase and getting around to all the engineering systems was a bigger task than most people thought. Of course if you had an outright fear of turbolifts that only threw gas on the fire or more work on the stack.

"This damn place is too big" Will said, shooting downward through the Jeffery's tubes. He was up to his fifth time through as thanks to a few idiots top side he had been interupted half-way to engineering a good four times or maybe more. Grab, let go, push off and repeat.

After a good ten minutes more the engineer at last arrived at main engineering or at least the top of it. A large hollow room made up a good chunk of the heart of the base with what had to be a record breaking warp core running the whole way from top to bottom. All through it decks, platforms, ladders and lifts covered the walls, housing monitors for everything in the base and enough equipment just here to build a small fleet of ships.

"Whoo" Will whistled as he bolted out of the Jeffery's tubes and down one of the ladders towards the bottom. For safety they all had a series of metal rings covering them in case someone slipped or trip while going up; it was a long way down.

Eventually the chief reached the 'main' part of main engineering, that is the floor with all the master system monitors, engineer's office and all that what not. He jumped from probably four floors over main engineering and hit the deck fairly soft, skeleton collapsing as he went then seconds later it popped back up to normal.

No one noticed the engineer's entrance, rather there was a heated debate going on between a Lieutenant and an Ensign. From the sounds of it the Lieutenant had a bad case of bigotry, enough that the fight had drawn the attention of everyone in the master systems display pit.

"Excuse me, there something I can do for you" Will said, then a devilish idea coming to mind turned to keep his rank out of the Lieutenant's view and added "sir."

"Yea, buzz off" the Lieutenant said, "that's an order."

"Well, Lieutenant Junior Grade" Will said, a bit of his marine bark slipping in, "I don't think I can obey that order."

The Lieutenant turned and with just as much attitude as he'd been using on his subordinates said, "and why is that?"

"Perhaps it has something to do with these" Will said, turning so his rank showed. As with engineers there couldn't be people like this, it had to be a smooth and well oiled machine of close-as-family shipmates. "Now, is there something I can help the two of you with or should I just help myself."

The Lieutenant turned white as a ghost, if not whiter. A foil to him, the Ensign's mouth broke into a smile from ear to ear with an expression saying 'the cavalry is here!' Well, the Lieutenant just stood there spitting and studdering like anyone in his position; that is in the wrong and caught red handed.

"Sir, the Lieutenant here just walked in and barking orders and he's not even from the starbase! Just one of the supply ships" the Ensign said, "so far he's made a mess of this place."

"I see" Will said, then turned to the Lieutenant, "I don't like liars so I'm going to ask you and I'd better get the right answer, is this the truth."

"Yyyyeeyyeesss suu uh uh sssii iirrr" the Lieutenant studdered, seeming to have lost the ability to talk all too coherently.

"And which ship is he from?" Will asked the Ensign, who by now was ecstatic, just two seconds shy of jumping for joy.

"USS D'voran sir" the engineer said, barely restraining himself.

"Ah yes, I know their captain, ship's running some recon with a skeleton crew while everyone else gets shoreleave and temporary assignment to Typhon" Will said, "well, I'll be talking with him, in the mean time, consider yourself under the direct command of every engineer in the sector reguardless of rank, including some engineers five year old daughter."

Will turned away and let the Lieutenant try to recover, "Ensign, report, what's the status of everything down here?"

"All systems are online and fully functional" Ensign Irmguard answered, "impulse and fusion reactors are running through test cycles, they should be done in a few hours and definitely by the end of the day."

"Anything I'm needed for?" Will asked, he had a lot of starbase to see yet, a good few thousand decks of it. "And by the way what's your name? Gotta start meeting everyone at some point."

"Imguard, Rico Ensign" Ensign Irmguard answered, "No sir, we can get along for a short bit without you yet sir."

"In that case, I've gotta go and see all the other engineering posts on this place" Will said as he turned to leave, "keep an eye on trouble there." Then before anyone could say another word he disappeared up the ladder, bolting to a post probably eight-hundred decks overhead.

OFF

Lieutenant Commander Will Couter
Chief Engineer
SB Typhon

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