Posted by Ensign Caelian Weir (Engineering Officer) in Main Sim - Deck 44 - Hole Breach Findings For Science & Engineering

Posted by Ensign Caelian Weir (Engineering Officer) in Main Sim - Deck 44 - Hole Breach Findings For Science & Engineering

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Mazhari Allendor (Engineering Officer) in Main Sim - Deck 44 - Hole Breach Findings For Science & Engineering
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻
[snip]

It didn’t take Caelian long to requisition and replicate the hull plating his team would need to fix the breach. That the transporters were still down for non-emergency use made him grind his teeth a bit, but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t adapt to. He firmly pushed the overwhelming problem of being on a wounded ship in distant space from his mind and focused on the task at hand. First, the breach. Then the next problem. And then the next, and so on until we’re home.

Caelian had to force out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding until his heart hammered against his chest. “You can do this, Cael. Reliable, not remarkable.”
—Caelian Weir, Engineer—

By the time he’d returned to Deck 44, Caelian felt a little less shaken. Yes, the premise of being generations at maximum warp from the furthest reaches of Federation space was overwhelming. Yes, the idea of never seeing his family ever again turned his knees into gel packs. And yes, being deep in a region of space fraught with all manner of peril seethed in the pit of his stomach. But he’d been trained for this, worked hard for the opportunity to explore the galaxy, and do his part to quench mankind’s inexhaustible thirst for understanding. Men and women in Starfleet—all far more qualified and learned than he—had approved him to serve aboard the Ark Angel, had determined that he was adequately equipped to perform under these conditions. That gave him hope.

But are these adequate conditions? a voice niggled in the back of his brain.

As he neared a junction in the corridor, he slowed the antigrav sled. The clatter of the duranium plating jarred him from his thoughts just in time to avoid colliding with a crewmember. Muttering his apologies, Caelian carefully maneuvered the sled around them. Noting a familiar face, however, he stopped once again.

Mazi came around the corner, just then, and almost bumped into the engineer. “Oh, Caelian. Just the man I was looking for. Heard we have a small hull issue?” She was smiling as the slight jest was made. A hole in the side of the ship was nothing to scoff at. But in times like this, small things needed to be amusing to keep the big things from being overwhelming. “How can I help?” She smiled once more, her hand rising in an almost ritualistic gesture to scratch her forehead as her antennae, once more, bent forward as if trying to sniff out the man before her to determine his worth.

Mazi
Engineer

“Lieutenant, I’m very sorry,” he murmured, bobbing his head apologetically. “I didn’t see you there over this hull plating. Ah, yes, sir. A boridium asteroid decided to let itself in. The science department’s analyzing it now, and my team’s cleaning up the mess.”

He jerked his head, then, inviting her to follow. “We’ve restored what systems we could, rerouted the rest through secondary systems. Right now, sir, it’s just patching needs done. Once the replicators are fully back online, I’ll get things good as new.”

They rounded another corner and Caelian nodded down the corridor to the damaged section. L’Nel was staring disapprovingly at the jagged hole in the hull. Caelian tried very hard to ignore the space beyond. “We’ve got someone working on the exterior of the breach while we tighten things up in here. You’re welcome to get your hands dirty if you want, Lieutenant.”

“Ensign Jackson should be in position shortly,” L’Nel added curtly as Caelian secured the antigrav sled nearby. After nodding respectfully to Mazhari, he added, “With an addition to our repair team, it would be logical that I—what is the colloquialism?—‘suit on’ and assist Ms. Jackson with the exterior repairs.”

Caelian blinked, tried not to chuckle. “It’s not— Ah, nevermind. I agree, that would move things along more quickly. Take whatever tools you need and, uh, ‘suit on.’ Let me know when you’re ready.”

The engineer shook his head at the Vulcan’s back, gave Mazhari a sly smile. “He does try, sir.”

=^=Jackson to Weir, we have a problem.=^=

Without thinking, Caelian whipped around towards the hull breach. Empty space loomed in front of him, tugged at his core with invisible strings. The ship began to pitch and spin, and he threw out a hand to steady himself. Peeking over the lip of the torn hull section was Ensign Jackson. The curve of her helmet stretched her satisfied smile into a sinister sneer.

A sadistic giggle purred through the comm. =^=I’m detecting a biological disturbance at your location. Brace for impact!=^=

“That’s not—” he groaned and turned away, gripping the handle of the sled tightly. Clearing nausea from his throat, Caelian tapped his comm badge. =^=That’s not funny, Jackson. What’s it look like out there?=^=

=^=A little green around the gills, but I think you’ll survive. Serves you right for making me draw the short straw.=^= He could hear the smug grin on her face. Her voice, however, softened. =^=It doesn’t look too bad out here, a little scraping around the edges. My guess is it was the densest piece of a larger fragment and the rest broke away on impact. Once we plug the breach, I can do a more thorough sweep of this hull section to be sure nothing else was damaged.=^=

=^=Understood. L’Nel is on his way out to assist you. Give me status updates every fifteen minutes. If there’s any sign of danger, tighten down what you can and get back inside. Let’s play it safe until transporters are back up, yeah?=^=

=^=Acknowleged. Jackson out.=^=

Once he was certain his breakfast was contained within his stomach, Caelian gave Mazhari a weak smile. “Shall we get started, then?”
—Caelian Weir, Engineer—

Mazi listened as the new Engineer took charge. Being the first on scene, it was his right. “Just Mazi, not Sir.” She smiled and nodded. “Let’s…” She pushed her sleeves up a bit and helped him maneuver the piece of hull into place for securing.

With a relieved sigh, Caelian rocked back on his heels and examined his work. The hull breach had taken the better part of an hour to repair to assure structural integrity. It had taken them almost another hour to restore basic ship function to the section. They probably could have gotten away with it in less time, but he’d insisted that they do the job right in order to relieve stress on the auxiliary systems. We’re nowhere near anything resembling help, he’d reminded himself. We’ll have to make it all last as long as possible, which means no cutting corners. Setting his tools back into his kit, he tapped his comm badge.

=^=Weir to Jackson.=^=

=^=Jackson here. Go ahead.=^= She sounded a little winded.

He ran an exploratory hand over the repaired section. =^=We’re all done in here. Once we get some downtime, I’ll get back out here to pretty it up a bit more. What’s it look like outside?=^=

=^=’Pretty it up?’=^= Her tone was more than a little amused. His face soured even before she continued. Sophia Jackson was nothing if not predictable. =^=Gosh, Weir, I knew you loved your work, but—=^=

=^=Weir to L’Nel,=^= he cut in. =^=Status, please.=^=

=^=L’Nel here.=^= the Vulcan replied cooly. Caelian chuckled silently at Jackson’s muted grumbling. =^=There is no damage to the ship beyond the scope of our original inspection in this section. Repairs have been completed to Starfleet standards.=^=

He nodded, then felt a little sheepish as he realized L’Nel couldn’t see him. =^=All right, get back inside and meet us in Engineering. We need to check in, find out our next move.=^=

=^=Acknowledged. L’Nel out.=^=

Turning to Mazhari, he gave a tired smile. “Thanks for your help. I can handle the clean-up if you have other duties. I don’t want to keep you.”
—Caelian Weir, Engineer—

As they finished, she smiled. “See, nothing a little glue and tape can’t handle. Good job. I’m going to recommend you to supervisor position if you keep up this efficiency, Ensign.” She smiled and glanced at the sled. “Wanna ride back? I can manage the sled. You earned a break.” She was half laughing and half serious. She wasn’t sure about him yet, but was still feeling him out. He seemed a perfect addition to Engineering and just hoped others saw it too.

Reaching up to scratch between her antennae as they pitched forward in response to her query to him, she shook her head and dropped her hand. “You’d think it was just another day in space, huh?” She laughed and grabbed up the controls for the sled.

Mazi
Engineer