Posted Aug. 1, 2022, 2:12 p.m. by Senior Chief Petty Officer Karl Johansson (Engineering Petty Officer) (Hjortur Ingi)
Posted by 1st Lieutenant Riss Ch’ethyniq (Chief Engineer) in Side-Sim How I Meet The New DH (Tag CE)
Posted by Ensign Kovan ch’Sirhc (Engineering & Communications Officer) in Side-Sim How I Meet The New DH (Tag CE)
Posted by 1st Lieutenant Riss Ch’ethyniq (Chief Engineer) in Side-Sim How I Meet The New DH (Tag CE)
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻
“I swear if I find the k’thlek who mangled this repair job I’ll-” Kovan switched to another language unknown to the universal translator. He discovered that completely by accident and has happily abused it since. Now, instead of mentally ranting in his head, he could have the physical satisfaction of ranting out loud and no one could report him for abusive language because they don’t know what he’s saying anyways. Though his tone and facial expressions conveyed his true feelings regardless. Still, the other engineers on deck gave him side-eyed glares in response. Kovan was not a well-liked crew mate, and that suited him just fine.Hyperspanner in hand, Kovan began to repair the repairs that while seemingly fine in the moment, would have eventually degraded and caused long-term damage down the line. You’d think Starfleet engineers would care about doing a proper job or did they waste their Academy years at parties and passing tests by the skin of their teeth? Though Kovan was young service-wise, he was a seasoned traveler of the galaxy and knew that even the smallest technical issue aboard a Starship could lead to critical or catastrophic results down the line. These engineers never had to travel in ships horribly out of date. Never had to hold a ship together with string and prayers. Never had to manually crawl through a ship’s vents and wires to coax power back into the engines to bring life support back online.
Ensign ch’Sirhc COMMO/ENGR
A voice from behind him said “And may I ask just what, exactly, you are doing there Ensign?” The speaker was tall-sh, and would have passed for human save for the web-like ridges across their large forehead. Dark brown hair meticulously cut in a somewhat military fashion, and startlingly green eyes peered at the Andorian. They wore the red uniform of the Engineering division, but the rank insignia was completely foreign. “And I’m fairly certain that while the Universal Translator didn’t catch that particular phrase, it’s probably not something you want to be blasting across the bay.”
Riss, CE
Kovan didn’t flinch when someone suddenly spoke behind him, but he swore once more before deactivating his hyperspanner and turning around. He didn’t recognize the crewman behind him, nor immediately recognized their species. Kovan’s seen a wide variety of what galaxy has to offer but that was drops in the bucket. “I’m repairing the shoddy repair job.” Kovan answered. As a swing officer, Kovan had his choice of uniform color and he had elected to wear red as communications and languages was his specialty and where most of his experience lay.
He gave a sardonic shrug, “What, no one can understand what I’m saying. I could be reciting klingon poetry and you have to use an angry tone for that. Otherwise you’re not truly recreating the cultural experience.” Before turning back to the console to continue the work he had started before being interupted by this random kill-joy.
Ensign ch’Sirhc COMMO/ENGR
The ‘kill-joy’ grunted softly and then said “Did you ever stop to think that maybe whomever did that… what did you call it? Right… ‘shoddy’ repair job might not want you to fix it? That maybe there is a reason its not done better?” The individual crossed their arms on their chest and looked a bit more than slightly perturbed.
Riss, CE
What. Kovan stared at Riss, baffled and not entirely sure he heard that right. “I wouldn’t call laziness a reason.” Kovan shot back. “Just look at these connections! If left like this they would eventually burn-out and take this whole board down!” Kovan had come here to perform maintenance upon the power coupling connected to this switch board. That’s when he noticed that the connections were connected directly to the wires without heat-gel in-between. The board wasn’t an important one, wasn’t tied into any major systems or sub-systems. But every little detail mattered. There was nothing minor or insignificant aboard a starship.
To some it may seem like paranoia. Kovan’s work ethic would seem to imply as such. He did impeccable and thorough work, no matter what he worked upon. “What, you think they were going to come back and redo what they should have done the first time? Right, and I’m actually green and my voice can make the flowers bloom”
Ensign ch’Sirhc COMMO/ENGR
“Or… you can maybe ask before getting your antennae twisted.” Riss replied with a slight smile. “And its not laziness… its buffering. The down-line plasma conduit is being replaced. Unfortunately, that conduit is one of Sickbay’s. And since we can’t afford a power surge in Medical, I set that particular board up as a kind of circuit breaker. When the new conduit comes on line, in the off chance we get a surge, that ‘shoddy repair job’ will fail and blow… thus preventing the surge from affecting anything important. And its a quick fix… unlike having to replace multiple boards, processors, and power converters. So if you will now stop fixing what is supposed to be broken, I’d really appreciate it.” His tone wasn’t abrasive, nor even annoyed. It was more akin to an uncle explaining something to an unruly nephew.
Riss, CE
Kovan had a smart reply at the ready, the moment the stranger started to speak. So convinced that he was right, the smartest person in the room, that it didn’t matter what this person said. Until it did. It was all perfectly logical. Kovan could tell it was the truth. Hell, he might have done it the same way if given the assignment. “There should have been a memo sent through the department.” He said, defensive, but he was grasping at straws. Documentation and alerts were engineering standards but on a small ship like this unless it was something sensitive, critical or had far reaching potential impacts then there was no need to alert the whole department over every little thing. Not over something as simple as this. “Who are you anyways?” Kovan said, further deflecting.
Ensign ch’Sirhc COMMO/ENGR
The figure smiled and said “I told everyone slated for the replacement what was going on. And while I applaud your initiative, Ensign, I would also suggest you pull the previous work orders before hopping into something without the needed information. As for me?” and he stuck out his hand, “I’m 1st Lieutenant Riss Ch’ethyniq, the Chief Engineer. You are Ensign ch’Sirhc, right? A pleasure.”
Riss, CE
Kovan stared down at the offered hand like it held a phaser. A lump formed in his throat. A steady stream of nearly every swear he knew cycling through his head while fighting the urge to panic. He was a terrible person, but thus far he had managed to keep his worse nature in check around his superior officers. It was a matter of survival. Get written up enough, cross too many lines and like the rules of human baseball strike out enough times and you are out. Kovan can’t lose this job. He couldn’t.
“Y-yes.” Kovan said, and with a start reached for the CE’s hand and barely shook it. “Sorry, sir, I wasn’t aware we had a replacement CE so soon.” Kovan couldn’t meet the CE’s eyes. He was tense and it showed in his stiff posture.
Ensign ch’Sirhc COMMO/ENGR
The obvious discomfort in the junior officer ilicited a laugh from the CE, jut not a malicious one. “Seriously, Ensign. Relax. Things get missed, it’s the nature of the work. Just don’t automatically assume deficiency when you see something wrong. I mean, I doubt you’d be very pleased if I automatically assumed the worst about you, right? That wouldn’t be fair, would it?”
Riss, CE
Relax. That wasn’t a word in Kovan’s dictionary. Not anymore. The word had been struck out with big black [REDACTED] lines and any reference to that word were similarly removed or crossed out. “No?” Kovan answered, unsure. This wasn’t going how he expected it to. Hell, he’d be far more comfortable if the CE had ripped him a new one or insulted him or any other kind of response that Kovan felt was deserved for a screw-up. This happy-genial mood was alien to him. Kovan was that person to assume the worst about everyone. That way when they’re half-way decent it’s a pleasant surprise, but also a sign that they want something from you. What was the CE’s angle? What did he want? Was this a set-up?? Was this all a ploy to get him comfortable so the rug pull would be unexpected???
Ensign ch’Sirhc COMMO/ENGR
ooc: Sorry! This one had slipped my mind. Also, you broke Kovan lol
OOC: Thank goodness I’m an Engineer and can fix broken things! LOL
IC: Riss watched the Andorian. There was a long silence and then Riss said “I don’t know what is running through your head right now, Ensign; but I promise you you aren’t in trouble. Take a breath, take a step back. Get your bearings.” and he took a step back to give the Ensign some space. “So now that you know what is going on, what is your take on the approach? Would you have done it differently?”
Riss, CE
Not in trouble. Right. Kovan pulled himself together, stood a little straighter. It wasn’t that he was totally assuaged by the CE’s words, but he was a man. No proper man needed coddling, and Kovan wasn’t about to display himself like some weakling. “It’s a solid approach,” He said, “I likely would have done it the same. With an added step.” Kovan motioned, following the plasma line with his finger, “It would work as a circuit breaker but what if the surge is more powerful than expected? These connections are simple, they could handle a weak surge but a strong one? I wouldn’t take the risk. I’d have added a surge protector here,” He motioned to the right of the connections panel, “Set it up so that when the connections blow the switch is flipped and the surge protector would absorb the rest of the energy and send up a flag in the system to shut down power to the line.
“Always better to be safe than sorry. Additionally you could try to prevent the surge altogether by setting up a power fluctuatetor at the site of the new installed connection, stem the flow of energy to a trickle then steadily increase it to normal output. ”
Ensign ch’Sirhc COMMO/ENGR
Riss listened and nodded in approval. “Good. And solid solutions, too. But we have a catch. This line is a dedicated power supply line to Medical, right? What if I told you that as we speak, the CMO is performing surgery? Would that alter your approach? Or do you stand by your initial solutions?” he asked.
Riss, CE
Great. Hypothetical situations. So this is a test now. Alright. Kovan can pass tests. “I can’t. If I used the surge protector that flips a trigger to shut down the power line then the surgery would lose power. I could keep the power fluctuator but that could also cause complications in keeping power for the surgery. My new approach would be to alter my current one. Place the power flucuatetor after the surge protector. So if a surge came most of it would be absorbed while still allowing necessary power through to medical.”
Ensign ch’Sirhc COMMO/ENGR
Riss smiled slightly and said “That could work. You could also, you know, just connect the surgery suite to a portable UPS and not even worry about it. Then you can do whatever you need without any risk of interference… right?”
Riss, CE
Kovan had a ready answer, “Even if you isolate the surgery suite to a separate power source you still must protect it. The power lines are still there, connected to consoles, equipment and lights. So while power may not be disrupted if there was an energy surge that power will still travel through surgery, overwhelming consoles and equipment, potentially to explosive results. If you take the USP route you still need to add some protection to the power lines.”
Ensign ch’Sirhc COMMO/ENGER
Riss grinned and said “Excellent. You know, for a Comms 9fficer you are a pretty good engineer.” and then he laughed. “C’mon, Ensign. Let’s get this handled and everything back to code. You can tell me your life story while we work.” and he chuckled again and began to go about readying to bring the power relay fully back on line.
Riss, CE
A head stuck out from the upper floor of the deck, the smiling face of Karl Johannsson in his Non-Comm Engineering uniform, it seemed like he had been lying down under a console as the two officers spoke “I knew you had it in you sir” He called out to the usually dour Andorian. He gave the Engineering Chief a nod “Sir” before pulling himself back to his duties, not wanting to intrude beyond the chipper comment.
SCPO Karl - Eng
OOC: Just wanted to but in with this apologies - Hjortur
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