<snip!>

OOC: No problem! I suggest taking a look at our Engineering course here at the Academy as well as Memory Alpha is a big help. There a tech manuals out there for Star Trek stuff too but don’t worry if you don’t have any of those, we’ll work with you on the technobabble :) And honestly the more you practice technobabble and posting the easier figuring out that and post length becomes, that’s also why I threw an example of an engineering RP problem into our normal interview. You’re doing great so far

IC:

Upon Cadet Whitfield’s examination of the PADD it looked like her hypothesis may be correct. Something was causing the data to not appear on the screen, but the exterior of the device seemed untouched and like it should. The problem to an Academy trained eye would seem to lie within the PADD itself, requiring the protective casing to be removed.

As Cadet Whitfield troubleshot the PADD, Dael could read a few things off of her, both from his Betazoid heritage and her manner. He was getting some apprehension and nerves, which was natural given the circumstances. No one likes being thrown into a problem in front of their new boss, but he had wanted to see how the new cadet thought through problems. It also tended to help them come more naturally to conversation when they were already fiddling with something else. At least he always felt that way.

“Don’t worry about the problems on a starship, you get used to them once you get into its rhythm. A problem is a problem, large or small, you tackle it like you always do. Start where you can and work from there. Just because a warp drive is a large piece of technology doesn’t mean that just a slight variance in the anti plasma can cause an issue.” He says further back in his chair watching the Cadet work, putting a hand to the side of his head.

“I can relate to your feelings on seeing inside someone’s head. That is a good insight though, looking at someone’s blueprints and layouts or patents can give you a glimpse of how their mind approaches problems. And I agree, starship engines are great. Even before I got interested in a career in this field I always loved assembling model warp cores. Now that you’re in this field, and in Starfleet, what goals do you have in mind? Chief Engineer on a ship like the Challenger? Jupiter Station? Maybe even a Captain’s chair?”

• Lt jg Dael Stadi, CE

She nodded slowly, taking in all the DH had to say, though she couldn’t help but choke a little hearing him ask about her goals.

“Captain’s chair? I don’t think that’s possible, not for me.” She paused for a moment, before continuing, a musing smile on her face as she spoke again. “Is this a test?” She’d never really considered the Captain’s chair as a serious position for her - she knew better than anyone that she lacked the maturity, the responsibility, and the personality for that role. Not to mention the pressure of being responsible for potentially hundreds of lives at any moment… it was impossible to imagine. Breaking away from that tangent, she shook her head quickly and tried to return to a more respectable tone.

“Er, sorry, in terms of goals, sir,” she began, “it’s always been a dream of mine to end up as a Chief Engineer on a starship somewhere, but… I don’t think that’ll be a reality any time soon, if ever.” She spoke with a tone of finality regarding this subject, though a slight sigh lingered after as she continued to dream about it. She shook her head to herself and seeing no other solutions on the outside, she flipped the PADD over and took off the back plate. She was hoping she was correct in her belief that perhaps the isolinear chip inside the device was somehow dislodged slightly, though there was no way of knowing until she got a better look inside.

“No, I’m definitely not Chief Engineer material. I’m pretty far from genius myself, and I’m almost always relying on others for help. I mean, I’d be nothing if I didn’t have help, even now. Especially now.” Despite having to do this task in front of the DH, the thing Whitfield was most frightened of was finding something she thought she’d be able to deal with and failing to. There’d be no bigger failure. After all, if she didn’t know what she was looking at, she could just ask, right?

The first thing to do after checking for any more obvious damage to the circuitry would be to reseat the isolinear chip inside the PADD and check again. Hopefully, it’d work out, though, she wouldn’t know until she tried.

OOC: Great post! Don’t forget to sign off on it, I confess it slips my mind from time to time.

IC: Dael sat and watched the Cadet work. She was on the right track with the PADD, he figured it was something to do with the isolinear chips as well and was glad to see her thinking on track. What did concern him was the thought patterns coming off of the Cadet Whitfield. Even from her answers it didn’t take a Betazoid to know that the cadet needed a chance to show that she did know her stuff. It would just take some getting used to, being on a starship, handling the responsibility. Dael remembered when he was a cadet and had to go to the bridge during a crisis, he had about hyperventilated. Hopefully working on the Challenger would change her view.

As soon as the chip had been reseated, the front screen flickered to life. The connection had somehow gotten loose and the PADD burst into life after the chip had been re-inserted into the system. Dael lit up along with along with the device.

“Well, you managed to fix my PADD without my help. Looks like you’re well on your way to becoming a Starfleet Engineer, Cadet.” He held out his hand for the device.
“Let me tell you something really important about being a Chief Engineer, or being an engineer in any position in Starfleet. You don’t have to be a genius to do this job. Does it help, sure, I can’t think of when that wouldn’t help someone. But as a Starfleet engineer, you work as part of a team and each member of that team relies on the other. Especially as the Department Head, I rely on my team to keep this place running so that I can focus on the bigger picture in keeping the Challenger at the Captain’s standards. I’d be nothing without their help. So don’t let that stop you. All you need is some common sense and the ability to take a step back and think a problem through. Just like you’ve just proven you can do” Dael gestured at the PADD.

“That being said, what would you say you bring to our team, Cadet?”

-Lt. jg Dael Stadi, CE