Posted by Tom L in Still Day 1 in Main Engineering (Of course it’s open)

Posted by Captain Iphigenia Henao (Captain) in Still Day 1 in Main Engineering (Of course it’s open)

Posted by Ensign Tom Little (Engineer) in Still Day 1 in Main Engineering (Of course it’s open)
Posted by… suppressed (7) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Tom was approaching the CE’s office. It was a routine to check with the Lieutenant and confirm the daily checkups and precautions. But this day seemed a little bit unusual. As he arrived at deck 18, crossing through Main Engineering C, there was an officer in yellow standing before the office’s hatch in a relaxed manner.

“Good morning, Sir.” he said, “I’m NEng (Engineer) Meylan. I’m the Master Chief in charge of Main Engineering. You’re Ensign Little?”

“Good morning, and that’s correct.”

“I’ve been informed to help you on a daily maintenance routine. As you might know, the Chief Engineer has transferred. As the next officer in charge of the Engineering station, I need you to grow up fast and take the lead, until the next leader’s arrival.”

“Um, understood, Master Chief,” Tom said with a surprised tone. “In that case, can I count on your full support?”

“Yes, Sir.” NEng Meylan smiled. “Only if you could follow my standard. How much do you know about the ship’s system? Oh, let’s walk to the Main Engineering first.”

“Right,” Tom said, as he followed the Master Chief. “I spent the most time in Computer Core. I do familiar with the ship’s computer syste…”

“So you’re saying you’re a total amateur of the Warp Core? Oops,” He paused and turned back. “No offense, Sir. Just checking your current capability.”

“Call me Tom. Obviously, you are senior in many ways.” Little smiled at the senior citizen.

“Alright, Tom. You’re welcome to take the lead from day 1. Or you can sit back and watch me how to run this place.” Once they arrived at the Main Engineering, 5 crews in yellow were working on their schedule. Usually, this is the time for briefing and checking what needs to be done for the day. And unrelated personnel were not supposed to be here. But due to the nature of this occupation, they’re often called by other departments for repairs. The place also has probably the best industrial replicator for parts except for weaponry use. Which always raised a sense of pride for those who work here.

Ens Little, Eng
(OOC: Free free to jump in or cross by with a reason ;) )

Iphigenia woke up that morning went through her normal morning routine, then dressed in a yellow maintenance Engineering jumpsuit for her day of orientation in the operations of the engineering department. She’d made a commitment to visit each department on the ship, in between missions, familiarize herself with its operations, and take the opportunity to learn as much as she could so she could be an effective Captain and have at least the basic knowledge to assist when she needed to.
Running a bit behind she hurried into the Main Engineering room. “I am here!”, she announced holding a cup of coffee in her hand. “I made it. Whose in charge? Tell me what I need to do and I am on it.” She fully expected them to treat her like an Engineering officer and not a Captain.

Henao, CO

As soon as the voice echoed throughout the room, NEng Meylan’s face turned blue, and shouted, “Captain on the deck!” All hands here immediately stopped their business and faced the skipper in attention. “Good morning Captain!” The senior grunted, “Master Chief Meylan reporting, Sir. Orders, Sir?” From his tone and all officers in yellow here apparently, none of them expected an early visit from the CO. Some of them started to look at each other and wondered if anyone had ideas of why.

NEng Meylan, Master Chief

The engineers might not have understood why she showed up in their department ready to work, but it was something she and her brother had learned from their father. As the CEO of his own company, their father wouldn’t just sit in his luxurious office and delegate the various day to day tasks or work. He would often be in the warehouse participating in the production, logistics, and operations tasks of the company so he could have a real and clear understanding of the work that was involved. When Iphigenia and her brother were old enough to go work, her father had them do the same during school intermissions and treated them like normal employees. When they questioned why he had them working when they obviously didnt need to, he sat them both down and told them “Someday this company will belong to both of you and in order to recognize what an outstanding team you have, and how their contribution brings value, you must be willing to do the same job. You should never be afraid or think you are too important to get your hands dirty not just out of respect for your workers, but if the day comes and you need to do this type of work, you will already be prepared to do it.”
Now she didn’t plan on showing up in the engineering department regularly to do engineering work, she was responsible for running a whole ship after all, but she wanted to at least get a general idea of the type of work they did from day to day.

Iphigenia’s face turned as red as it could have despite her darker skin tone. She placed her coffee down on a nearby workstation, held up her palms, and said, “No, no. Please keep doing what you were doing. I am not here as the Captain, I am here as a fellow engineer, therefore I will not be giving the orders today, but instead you will be giving me orders. So treat me like an Ensign who is reporting for her first day on the job.”

Henao, CO

“Umm, Aye, Captain.” NEng Meylan was relaxed somehow after hearing her intent and said, “Nice to have you here, Sir. I mean fellow Engineer!” He somewhat raised his voice just a little bit. Maybe he was excited that he had two young folks just joined his normal-boring check-up routine. “This is Ensign Little. He is in training today, so you two can pair up and follow me.” He then face-turned to an NE. “You’re in charge of today’s routine task. Do as scheduled.” He then gave the CO an after-you gesture.

NEng Meylan, Master Chief

Iphigenia nodded to the Master Chief as she waited for Tom then proceeded on. She offered him her hand. “Nice to meet you, partner! There is so much to do, where are we going to start?”

The senior gently let her hand touched-down to his ‘run-way 5’, just another way of describing his hand. Instead of asking her to dance, he said, “The honor is mine. Welcome to Engineering!”

“Na… Nice to meet you, Sir.” Tom a little bit trembled and said, “Ensign Little, reporting. I’m mostly taking care of computers.” He was probably not accustomed to talking to the Top Cat. It was maybe different from nervousness. Although, having the CO dressing up and working at the same level certainly raised some excitement. Certainly, it boosted morale. The changes were too quick in a day and it was still day 1, hopefully.

Ens Little, Eng

“I do not know what I am doing. So don’t be nervous, also I am counting on you to not allow me to blow up the ship. That would be bad…very bad.” Her expression was thoughtful then she asked, “What type of tasks did you do on your first day?”

Henao, CO

Ensign replied, “I was about to get today’s schedule.” He scratched his back head. “Usually, daily checks and maintenance for the Computer Cores, until yesterday.” He said. “Now, the Warp Core too, right? Master Chief?”

Ens Little, Eng

Iphigenia smiled and rubbed her hands together in anticipation for her upcoming tasks. “Do we each get a schedule or should we share the same one? Is that a tool kit?” she said pointing at a box that on the ground near a table as shenwent over and picked it up. “Should I grab it for us? You should let me tackle the first task but show me how to do it.” She said with a big smile on her face.

Henao, CO

Master Chief turned to both and said, “Yes, since you are both officers here, I will show things that important to Engineering.” After the CO showed interest in a tool kit, his face turned half-blue, and said, “Will let you tackle the first task, but let’s just let it stay there.”

“Yes, of course, sir.” She said as she put the tool kit back down and focused her attention back on the Master Chief.

“I’d like to start with a question. What are the roles of an officer? I’m talking about regardless of your department.” He left an open one and wanted to see how the staff and junior-level perspectives.

NEng Meylan, Master Chief

Iphigenia wanted to raise her hand. Also since she had the inclination to blurt out the answer, he pressed her lips together. She was not there to steal the spotlight, only to learn about the daily operations of the department. The answer to the Master Chief’s question played over and over in her head like an earworm. In Starfleet a commissioned officer has the responsibility to command and direct as necessary to ensure effectively the operation of ongoing and future missions. They should also maintain discipline, as well as make plans and provisions for operations to ensure the safety of their fellow officers.

Henao, CO