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Still Day 1 in Main Engineering (Of course it's open)

Posted March 6, 2023, 9:09 a.m. by Ensign Tom Little (Engineer) (Tom L)

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 Tom L in Still Day 1 in Main Engineering (Of course it’s open)
Posted by… suppressed (21) by the Post Ghost! 👻

<Technical Snip>
(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

“Umm…” Master Chief smiled at the kit-napper and said, “I know you probably have heard this before, but please don’t call me sir, and I work for a living. Sir.” He tried hard not to laugh it up. “Let’s hear from the junior, as you’ve just received your commission, right?”

NEng Meylan, Master Chief

“Class of ‘97, yes, Si… Senior Master Chief.” Tom calmly cleared his throat. “From the stars, knowledge. Master Chief.” He quoted the Academy’s motto. “Officers were trained in general aspects. Even though they did receive training on their certain field, officers can’t work alone and are required to work together with task-specialized enlisted crews.” He continued, “An officer is gifted with knowledge. His mission is to distribute it to whoever requested that, and when the time is right.”

Ens Little, Eng

Iphigenia raised her eyebrows and looked at Little, “I like that. However it is not the motto I had in mind. Its not the one I learned in the Academy. Is that specific to Engineering?” It was variances such as this that made doing the undercover boss thing worthwhile, although she was not that undercover. Everyone knew who she was which kind of defeated the purpose in her mind. But being around her crew and doing what they do she learned new things and it reminded her that she didn’t always knew what she thought she knew.

Henao, CO

“Well, it’s more like from Science. I was trained as a science officer.” Tom grinned and turned to the CO, “My first CSO was very much into the stars. She ended up joining the fleet and earned the right to be there.” He started to remember the old good days when he was amazed by the space and the training ship. What most crews didn’t know was, because of his specialty, the Academy had a hard time finding out which department to place at the entrance. He ended up training with both perspectives. But he knew he had a long time to be perfect, and he wasn’t plan to rush it.

Little, Eng

“A science officer turned engineer? That is a pretty unusual switch.” Iphi said with raised eyebrows. Both fields of study were difficult in her mind, she only ever excelled at being a security and tactical officer. “Something tells me you thrive off doing complicated and tedious tasks.” She smiled and then said, “I am sure you don’t see it that way. So, this CSO, is she still in Starfleet?”

Henao, CO

“She was transferred before my training time was complete.” Tom said, “Then my peer medical cadet was promoted to CSO, which boosted a lot of morale among us. I mean who could see that coming? A doctor yesterday and a Chief Science Officer today!” He looked at the ceiling as if an old-timer projector was showing the scene. “I think she is still somewhere, looking at stars and chasing her dreams as an exobiologist. After all, one day an officer, always will be an officer in the fleet.” He smiled.

Ens Little, Eng

“You should try to reach out to her. It’s important to stay in touch, especially with those you meet during your cadet years. Those connections have done me the most good in my Starfleet career. You never know where someone will end up. That cadet who ran beside you in training could end up being Fleet Captain of your Fleet. Who knows she might be an Admiral now. So you like being an engineer more than a science officer? Is it because you get to move around the ship freely?”

“Can’t wait to see her on that rank!” Tom smiled while he wasn’t sure he would see that coming during his service. “I missed a chance to say a proper goodbye to her. I was the last person to know her transfer.” In a way, that was true. But his log entry showed what might be the cause. The training ship had encountered a weird incident: After a death of a cadet, the ship’s staff officers all went transferred. He was one of the crews who were still puzzled about the decision of the Fleet’s Command. Orders were orders, however. “Oh, I’m just filling in the blanks. The wind takes me to wherever she finds the needs.” He answered. One of the challenges of boarding the Levi was telling no one about the assignment, not even the former shipmates, due to the nature of the mission the ARU might have.

She looked over at the Master Chief. “How is the Master Chief? Anything I can do to annoy him?” she said with a smile. She cupped her hand over her mouth and said in a baritoneish voice, “When are we going to do something fun!” Then she looked at Ensign LIttle and shrugged her shoulders.

Henao, CO

“Yeah, where did he go?” He looked around and showed 2 imaginary question marks above his head.

Little, Eng

“Do you like being an engineer?” she asked out of the blue. “I mean do you have other aspirations? I know you chose to engineer over science, however to me it sounds like…and I could be wrong....you are not sure what path you want to pursue. At the end of your service in Starfleet what would you have hoped to accomplish?” she asked as tried to figure her engineering partner out.

Henao, CO

“Oh, I’ll write about them.” Tom smiled without surprise, despite the bluish question. Perhaps he had to face this on occasions when he needed to remind himself what was in it for him and why he was still here. Initially, he was just out of the blue after recovering from an accident as a former contractor at the Daystrom Institute. Then he met some interesting people at a social event. Before he knew all he went through, he was on his way to the Academy as a little bit aged plebe, with very few personal belongings and a recommendation letter. He hoped to find the compass and complete the career path the institution offered. After 4 years, he barely survived the curriculum and was pinned as an Ensign. But mostly, he was fulfilling his promise to a cadet who couldn’t make it to the graduation.

“I like the ship. It’s like a lifeform.” He said. “I’m here to facilitate, fix, and flourish things that my fellow crews can’t. So, I could be called an engineer, a computer science officer, or a doctor for the ship’s system. As long as…”

Iphigenia’s head quickly turned to NEng Meylan, she’d wanted to hear what Tom was going to say. “We should have lunch together after this.” she whispered to him.

“Sorry to interrupt you Sirs.” NEng Meylan joyfully interrupted them. “I had a brief from my fellow engineers. Please follow me. We got work to do.” He waved the young crews.

Little, Eng

NEng Meylan, Master Chief

“That’s my honor, as long as I’m invited.” Tom swiftly replied to her with a lot lower volume.

Little, Eng

“Finally,” Iphigenia said as she clapped her hands together. “Some action. I want this to be a hands-on experience.” she said, “I can do the repairs and you walk me through it. Okay?”

Henao, CO

“Yes, Captain.” NEng Meylan grinned and led the guests to the ‘stage.’ What they faced in front was the 1618 Cochrane Class-VIII warp core, which stood from deck 16 to 20. It was the central provider of the ship’s power, along with the impulse engines. Here, the ‘show’ started at deck 18, where ‘almost’ the bottom of the core, lots of monitors, and the CE’s office were located.

“Actually, you’re right on for the first task, Sir.” NEng Meylan turned to the CO. The place was full of touch-able screens: Master system display, warp propulsion system display, impulse propulsion status display, master situation monitor, duty engineer’s console… If anyone accidentally reported duty here as if this was the CIC, (s)he would probably be greeted by an overwhelming size of laughs from 16 to 18, caused by the echo of its structure.

“And a safety reminder, don’t touch my displays unless I say so.” Master Chief said as if he was revealing precious treasures to new friends. “Sir, when you’re in charge, what would you do to steer the ship?” He was talking about her routine, procedure, or protocol in other words.

NEng Meylan, Master Chief


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