Posted by Lieutenant Logan Kelleher (Chief Engineer) in Engineering Group - Alpha Station

Posted by Ensign Elemirre Serinde (Engineering Officer) in Engineering Group - Alpha Station

Posted by Lieutenant Logan Kelleher (Chief Engineer) in Engineering Group - Alpha Station
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Snip

At the meet up point El found Fiona there already. Not surprising. The roster for Gamma shift showed a new name that El didn’t know. Another Ensign. Sasha Gagarin. Probably coming on tomorrow, but then that only left them five. And it had to be with Fiona. El flashed a smile at the ginger Chief Petty Officer. Fiona was all business and all regulations. Rick Walters was arriving, hauling his kit crate and another pack over his shoulder. That only left Dorian and Galen. How they got along El did not know; both Dorian and Galen took things rather informally. Idly she chewed a nail and tried not to feel judged by the ‘fighting Irishwoman’. She was pretty enough but had a temper. And right now she didn’t seem so happy.

“We’re not going to make it, Ensign.” Fiona said to El. Blunt. “The ship has too many systems for us to essentially decommission it in a shift.” El wasn’t sure if the tone held accusation that was meant for her or for Lt Green. “You know he will report us if we don’t get it done. Dereliction or something.”

El watched as Galen and Dorian came around the corner hauling their goods, the latter with his guitar across his back. Fiona was about to say more but El cut in. “We’ll do what we can.” Then, louder so all could hear her, El said, “We’ll go to 05:00 and I’ll dismiss you to the Sojourner. I’ll finish up. If Green has an issue then it’s all on me. And you’ll get a chance for a little sleep before we muster at 09:00.”

Fiona was about to protest but then figured it made sense but she still didn’t like it. “If we do it right,” she continued, her tone implying that was the only way of doing it, “it would take all of us engineers at least two shifts to do it, log it, check it and file it.”

Dorian said, “Fiona, wouldn’t some of the systems be shut down already by the station crew? I know the ship is older and nearing end of life and needing refit and more. Wouldn’t that save us time?”

“Every third system could be shut down but we still need to confirm it,” she said, her look to him. It was unsure what she thought of the crewman. On the one hand he found much of engineering effortless in knowledge but on the other hand his attitude was that of just ‘sailing’ through.

“Fiona’s right,” El said. “We can’t say we did something and if we missed a system we’re on the hook. I know we’re tired. Fiona, you take Galen and work at the impulse and power distribution systems. Rick, you and Dorian work through life support, secondary systems and navigation. Send me what you have done as you complete a system unit and I’ll log and file it. I’ll take navigation, computer network systems, warp and sensors. If you need a break, take one and make it short. Your cut off is 05:00 to have all you’ve done completed by then.”

With a nod they moved off to start. El shifted to an Engineering station and began working through the checklist for the warp systems and power relays. Normally they themselves would take three hours and it was soon past midnight. The Petty Officers had more time in than her and would do good. Dorian was bright if he kept his mind on the work. Galen drove Fiona nuts with his not being engaged, which was why he didn’t pair him with the fiery woman. But for now El needed to be on task. It was a race, and a sad one. El had not been on the ship for that long. It seemed like a shakedown for them all, though some had been there longer like Bekele and Tyler, the more senior non-comms. The chief had mustered out to another ship and another was coming. El was feeling a part of the ship and now she was leaving it for another. Was it better? New? More chance for her to spread her wings? Yes, but still an old home was hard to say farewell to, even if it was just an ancient tugboat, or the Bonnie. She had heard there was a whole other class of ship in the works which would bear that name, one even better than the one she was transferring to. Perhaps in time she would be on that ‘Bonnie’.

But for now … a race to shut this old ship down.

El, Eng

El looked at the corner of the small display that showed the time. It was 06:10. She felt as though she was in a tomb. As more and more systems had been shut down and power increasingly transferred to the umbilicals at the station the ship became bit by bit more silent. It could be her imagination, but El would swear that with each subsystem shut down that the ship that had carried her first into space and outside of her system was dying. And she was helping it along in a kind of technological euthanasia. She felt strange inside. Hollow.
An hour before she had sent the others off to get some rest and she was working quickly to do as much as she could. At this point it would be noon before she was done, at the earliest. Her eyes darted from the checklist to the switches and dials and display commands, initiating a half dozen at a time. She could do better, she knew, but because of the time change and being up a full day anyway in China, El was pushing 36 hours awake. She was young, and adrenaline and annoyance was keeping her going, as was a determination to finish.
“Need a little help?” came a voice from the entry to engineering. In all the quiet El should have heard their approach but she’d missed it and jumped, startled. Wheeling about she focused her eyes in the dimness.
“Bekele? Rosa?” she said. That was one odd pairing.
“We thought you might like a hand. Us old guys don’t sleep as much as we used to,” Bekele said.
“And ticked off women don’t either,” Rosa added. Now that El saw her the fiery Spaniard did look unhappy. “I’m not about to give Green anything to be smug about.”
“That is Lt Green, crewman,” Bekele, a Senior Chief Petty Officer, said in a soft rebuke. “We respect the commission even if we don’t like the person. Lt Green is hard to like when he is on duty but I believe he means well. It isn’t very fair to command something done in a night which would take a full day. Put it down to a test of patience.”
“Lt Green means well when it will look good for Lt Green,” Rosa said, undaunted, glancing at Bekele. “But, El, despite our differences in opinion and attitude, we want to help you finish up.” Bekele nodded, the dim lights reflecting off his bald head.
El had a wash of emotion pass through her. Yes, a sense of pride too that had her wanting to, perhaps, in self-pity, to work through this herself. But that drained away behind an unbeckoned yawn. “Thank you,” she said quietly, then smiled. “But you two will be off in time to make it back for the 9am muster finished or not. That is my .. ensignly order, if that means anything at 6am.”
“That is fair, Ensign,” Bekele said. “Put us to work. We’re burning moonlight here, and I’m Spanish, and we like the moon,” Rosa added.
El took a moment to chew a nail. “Okay, I’ve not yet tackled the Science Lab or Sickbay on C deck. If you both can do that inside a couple of hours that will go a long way.”
Bekele nodded. “We’re on it, Ensign.” “Yeah, we’ll kick some sickbay culo,” Rosa said.
“Is that one of the words you are supposed to teach me?” El asked. Rosa only gave a wink before turning to head out with Bekele. El took a moment to close her eyes and do a breathing exercise. Then, as she opened her eyes, she went back to it.
El, Eng

Bonaventure.
08:40 hrs. El closed out the final checklist and protocols. Bekele and Rosa’s help ensured that she would not be horribly late. The last switches wherein she brought the power for the Bonaventure’s lighting to emergency power settings and defaulted the ship systems to ‘need only’ were loud. Was it her imagination that it sounded hollow? Echoing? It wasn’t that any equipment was removed to make the ship any less full. It reminded her of leaving the Academy dorm and how hollow her voice sounded there, but then she was leaving for a new adventure here on the Bonaventure. It was exciting and she only had a moment of pause leaving her dorm. Was it that she thought she would have been there longer and made an essential career out of it? Her eyes scanned the power readouts. EP settings right down the middle. She flicked the very last switch. All about her the lighting dimmed. While it was her imagination, she felt a chill.
El was excited coming to this ship, old as the Bonaventure was. The Sojourner was a new class and brand new, right out of the wrapping. And El knew nothing about it. Yet. Had Lt Green known and passed that information exclusively to his favorites to read up on it? El moved from engineering to get to the docking gantry to collect her bag. She left the tablet she had used for the decommissioning at a small table that had been set up to log people in and out of the ship and signed herself out. “Farewell old friend,” she said to the empty ship. Hefting her sea bag, El departed and entered the corridors of Alpha Station. Now she needed to find her way to Beta Station where the Sojourner was.
By 08:55 hrs El had worked her way to the cramped shuttle bay. Alpha Station was added to more so than planned and the shuttle bay was an add on. As such, by this time it was dated, cramped and nothing happened quickly. Being morning there was a queue of shuttles waiting to land and others waiting to depart and others offloading materials.
She found the officer of the day and three crewmen pointing to a display board of arrivals and departures and scheduled times for each and how there were already a half dozen flagged in red for being late. “Any of those going to Beta? To the Sojourner?” she asked when there was a break.
The OD, a short, mainly bald man whose remaining hair was clinging to the sides of his head in two thin strips looked at El and her bag. “You’ve not filed a flight request I take it, ah, Ensign?” The pause, and a slight shake of her head, was his answer. “Not one for protocol, are you?”
El stiffened. “I’m the last of a shift decommissioning the Bonaventure, Lt. The order was given last night and, um, I guess they took the shuttle back.” She suddenly felt left behind.
“I’m sorry, Ensign. Nothing until closer to 11:00. We’re backlogged here. If you like you can wait in the officer’s lounge and we can notify you when it is ready.” He checked his tablet. “The .. Roget. Carrying foodstuffs. It’s just unloading some now but will be heading out. Should be room.”
“Lt,” came the voice of one of the crewmen. “An SPO by the name of Seifu shuttled across not long ago for one of the Luna’s. He reserved a one-man worker bee for a Serinde. Would that be you?” El’s face shot over, hope partially restored. “Yes,” she said. Bekele. He came through for her. Not like Green did anything like that.
“You’re in luck, then,” the OD said, checking the tablet. “It’s berthed port side. But we need it back.” El shifted her bag. It was feeling heavier. “I’ll arrange for it to get sent back right away.” In the back of her mind El knew that the ‘meeting’ was just starting over on the Sojourner.

Sojourner
09:00 hrs. Lt jg Green entered the Lounge on G Deck and scanned the faces of the Engineers there. He did a quick count. Serinde wasn’t there and there were new faces. He would put a report in on her later. The hum of conversation had ceased at his entry as they stood and came to attention. “At ease,” he said, his baritone voice not quite that of a drill sergeant, but at that moment it was close. “I hope you all managed to get some rest. It will be a busy day for us. For those who are new, I’m Lt Green. Now, about today. Alpha and Beta shifts will be doing double shifts and Gamma, you will be on standby. I hear we will be setting out today. Because of that we will need all stations attended.”
“We will also be meeting our Chief Engineer sometime today,” he continued.
“Who is it, Lt Green?” The voice was that of Emerson Fawkes, Petty Officer.
“I don’t know yet,” Green said. “The Chief must be a late addition as he or she is not yet on the roster. In the meantime all of us have to get up to speed on the operation of this ship. That means we tour it. Some of us have some knowledge on the Luna and did a quick orientation last night so we will lead the tours. We will split up by shifts. Warrant Officer Tyler Jackson will take Alpha Shift. I’ll take Beta. Chief Petty Officer Fiona will take Gamma shift. You there .. Ensign ..” He pointed to a gangly looking Ensign who was new to him.
“Gagarin, Lt, Sasha Gagarin.” His accent was distinctly Russian, and he shot up to attention like an eager puppy.
“Gagarin. I like the name. You will be the Gamma shift lead but Fiona will drive the tour. Be a sponge today Ensign.” Sasha grinned.

Alpha Station
09:15 hrs. She and her sea bag vied for room in the cramped worker bee that was made for a person and their lunchbox. Wrestling the straps around her and snapping them in place she fired up the unit. It was small and smelled like someone previously had enjoyed limburger cheese, or their old socks were still hiding somewhere beneath her. There was a charm bracelet like thing dangling from an overhead switch near the viewscreen. To one side was a small photo advertisement of a scantily clad dancer. The edges were curling but she could still see a name under it. Honey. El made a face. Next to the door of the Worker Bee was stencilled its designation. Worker had been painted over with a scrawled ‘Honey’. The connection was not lost to El. She fired it up. It rumbled and shook distressingly. A warning light for a port thruster beeped. El silenced it and initiated a quick thruster diagnostic while she familiarized herself with the controls. Was she an able pilot? The only real space time she had with anything was in flight testing shuttles they had repaired at the Academy. The air circulator hissed overhead. The rumbling did not settle. Still, she was thankful for Bekele helping her. It took forever for the diagnostic to return a result. Port thrusters were online but was overdue for servicing. It should get here to Beta.
[o] Worker Bee C08538 ready to detach. Destination Beta station. [c]
[o] Worker Bee C08538. Stand by. You have traffic in your area. Will advise when it is clear. [c] Another delay. El took a deep breath then, in a fit of frustration elbowed her sea bag that was pushing her to one side. A sleek shuttle with an escort of two Atmo-Ace Fighters passed by followed by a small swarm of Worker Bees. At last there was a reply. [o] You are cleared to detach. [c]
El activated the thrusters. Both her hands were in the control gloves which allowed her to guide the small craft and work its various ‘worker’ functions. She was on her way. Once she cleared the station, she tried to connect to the Sojourner but was locked out. She tried to access the plans for it. It flashed back as ‘classified’ and that the was not authorized. El blew a strand of hair away from her face. Evidently, she was not recognized yet as she had not been on board and registered by the computer. Slowly she plodded toward Beta Station and sent in an early request for docking in advance.
El, Eng

Before the Engineering team split into their groups for their respective tours, an individual stepped through the doors to the Engine room and paused a moment once inside, surveying the team. Wearing the blue jumpsuit of Starfleet and with the rank of Lieutenant clearly showing, the man had a similar build and bulk to Green but was slightly shorter with a squared jaw, light stubble and medium blond, short hair.

His eyes moved to Reggie and paused a moment in recognition. It wasn’t surprise in his eyes, Green was on the roster and Logan had taken time to go over each of his teams’ file as much as he could in the limited time he had. Kelleher and Green knew each other, were of the same classes and had worked in the same departments although had never actually served together on a ship together. They weren’t exactly friends, in Logans’ opinion, Green wasn’t the type to make friends of people he intended to be in Command of. They were, to Logan, simply Officers in Starfleet and now, Green was part of his team.

“Good morning,” Logan addressed the group, then looked to Reggie. “Lieutenant Green, it’s been a long time. I understand that you have the department about to partake in an orientation tour of the Sojourner, so I won’t keep you long. Do you mind if I have a moment with my team?” His eyes moved back to the team and did a mental note, 10 present, including Green. With Logan that made 11, one short of the dirty dozen they were supposed to have.

Lt Kelleher, CE

Reggie didn’t see at once the newcomer and the voice had a distant familiarity. His eyes darted to the large figure. His first thought was that they would have a hard time in a shuttle pod for the two of them to fit in together. The second thought was that of seeing his pips. His came to attention and with a booming English accent said, “Officer on deck!”

Logan nodded in response to Green’s command, and his eyes moved again to the group of Engineers. His face was impassive, only a telepath could have gleaned any kind of insight into what lay behind the exterior.

The others sprang up to attention, but still turning with eyes to see this newcomer. There was only one other officer present besides Green, a lanky pale youth with short hair coming to a pronounced widow’s peak. The rest were non comms ranging from crewman up to a Warrant Officer. “Welcome aboard Lt, or do you prefer Chief? the team is yours and we are eager to hear what you have to say. I was only keeping the engines warm until we had a new chief.” He paused only a moment. “The orientation is split between the shifts. We would be honored if you would take command of the alpha shift.”

“I’m going to decline that request for the moment, Thank you Lieutenant,” his eyes now moving back to Green. “The team will follow your original orders for their orientation and as for myself, I am going to make an inspection of my Engine Room. Oh, and lets go with Chief, it might be slightly less confusing than having someone call out Lieutenant and having both of us look up.”

If Green was surprised at the Chief declining taking a group he showed it only in a quick raise of his brows. “Chief it is,” he said loud enough for all to hear while scanning the eyes of those assembled to ensure they heard it too.” By his tone he was pleased at using the word ‘Chief’; his seafarer family used the pigeon terms such as Chief and Skipper and Doc even as the general crewmen in engineering had been known as Sparkies. That term had originated far back as slang for an electrician, though as engineering on ships and vessels had advanced, an engineers work was not unlike that of an old ‘Sparky’.

Who was he? Reggie was thinking. The Lt knew of him, but that sounds like it was more likely from having seen his name on the list. He noticed how he moved his eyes over the other engineers. Faces to names? He knew many of the active Lui’s but this one was familiar but not. Was he just promoted perhaps and his mind was filtering through the wrong list? In that case there was a lot more to choose from, more than Reggie knew. That would come fast enough.

“At ease.” Logan said and then paused a moment in expectation that Lieutenant Green would take his position.

As soon as the Lt gave an ‘at ease’ order, Reggie shifted and moved to join the rest of the engineering group. As soon as he could he would send ‘another’ note to Serinde. As far as he knew she was still aboard the other station; there was no mention of any Serinde on any passenger manifest or shuttle. Was Reggie disappointed in not getting the promotion and chief position? Yes, but he was career. His time would come. Just follow regulations and keep his nose clean and do good work. Mentor the juniors under him and ensure they are ship shape making not just the ship, the commission, but the fleet proud.
- NL Reggie Green

“My name is Lieutenant Logan Kelleher and I have been, by the request of Captain Renault assigned as Chief Engineer of this Starship. I look forward to working with you all and going over all of your files, believe you are all capable of doing what’s needed to keep our ship in top shape on the coming mission. I have previously served with the Captain on the delta winged NC ships, as well as the Intrepid Class, and for those of you who wish to know more, have been until now assigned to Starfleet Research and Development in San Francisco. Needless to say, I am excited to be back in the Engine Room.”

Like ships that moved in the night the two of them evidently had passed one another. Green had not been on any of those ships. He did notice Bekele nod and in his expression there was some recognition but not on any of the others. Kelleher had been on high class ships and had been planetside. He’d be expecting big things from his people. The small shift sizes would allow for him to get to know the people. He was sure none would be an embarrassment to the ship. Well, maybe Serinde. Wait, the Captain chose him as Chief? That was not normal protocol for a ship like this. The Skipper must have some pull. He wondered who was on the list otherwise? He’d have to make some calls to the Fleet office. He knew a person or two there. But being in R&D he would have up to date knowledge and he had field experience. A good pick.

“Now, don’t let me delay you from Lieutenant Green’s schedule. Lieutenant, if you have nothing else for the team you may dismiss them to their duties but if I may have a small moment of your time?” With a nod to Green and a smile to the team, Kelleher turned and moved away from the group slightly.

Lt Kelleher, CE

His thoughts were interrupted by the Chief bringing things back to the present. “Aye, Sir. Thank you, Chief.” He turned to the others. “Shift leaders, conduct your orientation tours. Beta Shift. Chief Petty Officer Seifu. Take our group and I’ll catch you up. Start at D Deck engineering and make your way forward to Astrometrics. Everyone, this is a familiarity tour with where everything is. Once we are underway you will have plenty of time to find out what is behind every bulkhead and deck plate. For now I want you to be able to know where that bulkhead is if need be.” He paused for a moment. “Dismissed.”

As the teams split up to cover the ship Reggie joined the Chief. “I look forward to serving with you, Chief. We’ve got a few new people and a number transferred from the Bonaventure.” He glanced around him. “I’ve never served on a new ship before.” In his baritone voice there was a touch of awe, and another touch of apprehension. To Kelleher, Green’s appearance would remind him of a dark haired, square bearded Norwegian officer that might be seen in old photographs. “What can I do for you, Chief?”
- NL Reggie Green

“Likewise, Lieutenant. A new ship brings plenty of opportunity to test our latest developed tech and systems, I’m glad to have someone with your experience here.” Logan smiled as he spoke, but his eyes didn’t leave Greens’ face. “I’ve gone over the shift allocations you’ve submitted, I was tempted to run two shifts doing twelve on and twelve off with some on standby in case we need extra hands considering our relatively small team. You believe we can manage with three shifts and lower numbers? You have the most recent ship board experience and know most of the team already, so I value your opinion.”

Reggie’s expression did not change much in this short discourse. Logan would see a brightening in his features at the praise followed by a thoughtful narrowing of the eyes and a slight tightening of his lips. “This is a Navy ship, Chief. We’re all on standby. There’s not enough of us to put people aside and still effectively make two shifts. Two shifts would give us a couple more on each shift. Seven decks. Old Bonnie only had four. A couple extra hands each shift would relieve the pressure and we’re not spread so thin. Two officers on each shift, three sailors, mix of Petty Officers with a rotating day off in the team.” Inwardly Green liked an 8 hour shift but this would soothe his worry about too few on a shift to cover issues.

It was then that Logan turned his head and looked to the door where the Engineers had departed. “Also, we seem to be missing one of our Ensigns? The name eludes me but I’m sure we are supposed to have another Engineer on hand?”

Lt Kelleher, CE

Green’s face darkened. “Yes, Serinde. Elemirre Serinde. I’ve known her for a few months on the Bonaventure. She’s bright. Likeable. Quiet. Keeps to herself. Don’t try to play cards with her. She picks up games fast. And she is late.” He glanced at a nearby chronometer on the wall. “Very. I detailed her and Gamma shift to decommission the Bonaventure and report to the muster here for 9. She sent her team back early to get some rest and she stayed behind to finish. Just before the meeting I talked to the Station security and they confirmed the Bonaventure is empty. Port authority has no record of her name on any shuttle manifest. And she’s not answering her comms. I gave her the decommission for her to redeem herself as she was late for the crew muster to begin with. I .. don’t know where she is. Station security is looking for her.”
- NL Green