No Playing Operation

Posted on Tue Jun 25th, 2024 @ 10:29pm by Petty Officer 3rd Class Constantin Vansen & Lieutenant Commander Christopher Evans

988 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: To Boldly Go
Location: USS Fenrir
Timeline: Day 7

[ON]

PO3 Constantin Vansen looked around the new ship with awe, smiling as his fingers trailed the bulkhead of the corridor as he walked. There was a cushioned feel to it and he looked down with a smile at the carpet. Carpets! Who would have thought it. It made it feel warmer. Sure, the spacer in him found the luxury odd, as if it served no purpose. Except it felt nice so who was he to complain?

He was on deck 8, heading to the Operations Office. The layout made sense to him as he remembered what else was on this floor. Engineering, so the hardware was close to the software so to speak. He looked around, stopping for a moment just to take in the new smell of a refitted Starship. Ah. He could practically taste the metal.

He let himself into the room, looking around for a moment before his eyes landed on a tall, well-built man. The pips showed him as a Lieutenant Commander, so his Chief. That, or the Chief Engineer got lost. He doubted it. "Sir," he said with an easy smile, looking more curious than anything else. He shifted where he stood, not sure where to put himself or his hands, giving him the appearance of a teenager.

“Lieutenant Commander Christopher Evans” he introduced himself with a smile. He would likely be spending more time on the bridge then anywhere but wanted to look around.

"Petty Officer Constantin Vansen," Constantin said and gave him a smile. "Operations officer. Nice to meet you, Commander Evans." His new boss. Without doubt, his new boss.

“You as well” Evans offered a slight nod and smile. “So what are we working on?” Chris was curious what some of the people in his department were busy doing.

"Well, right now I am just getting used to the different systems and how they talk to each other," Constantin admitted as he motioned to the consoles. "The power is low, warp drive dormant and I'm just doing ping tests to make sure there's no lag on monitoring."

“Where can I jump in” Chris asked more than willing to help. “I’m sure the Captain has a set launch time in mind and I’d like everything in our department to be as ready as possible.”

"Oh...oh!" Constantin's eyes widened when he realised that Evans actually meant it. "Well, I haven't yet tested the speed input between the bridge consoles and their departments' databases. And I also need to check the various replicators...we run on isolinear chips, not bio-neutral gel packs. I checked."

“I’ve got to be back on the bridge shortly anyway” Chris smiled “so how about I’ll run your speed tests from the bridge.”

"That would be really helpful, Commander," Constantin said with a grin, nodding. "I don't step foot up there anyway, so would have had to wait for an officer. I'll do the replicators. I know they'll be fine usually, I just...you know how people are. If one is on the blink, everyone has a proper freak out."

“At the tiniest inconvenience when it comes to the replicator” Evans smiled “I ordered coffee hot and it was only warm was a complaint I got from a former Commander.” Chris shook his head “ended up costing me two days with no sleep because he wanted every replicator on the ship hand checked. One of the times I was thankful the Defiant class was packed with bare minimum.”

"Do you think our Captain would do that to us?" Constantin asked with wide eyes, but it was almost playful before he looked down with a small smile. "I mean, if they do, then...such is life, you know. I'm here to do what I get told to do," he met Evans eyes before he held his arms out to the side and made an upward movement. "Work hard, for little glory, with no whining. That's the Ops enlisted creed on the quiet."

“I think we are going to be just fine” Evans tried to assure the Ops officer.

"Oh, we will," Vansen said quickly, meeting his eyes. "It's a refit, they're making sure she's solid. And if we need to tweak or do repairs, we got that covered too. She won't kill us unless we drive her to it by bad maintenance and stupid decisions." He paused and then frowned. "The ship, I mean. She being the ship. Not the Captain. Can't speak for the Captain."

"I'm confident in the old girl" Chris smiled "I also mean the Fenrir and not Commander Blake. Although I'm more than sure the Commander is capable or she wouldn't have been assigned the center seat."

"Yeah, exactly. Besides, if she is not..." Vansen looked at him, his face neutral before he gave a playful smile. "That's the Officers problem, not the enlisted..." and he was unable to keep the chuckle out of his voice.

"Yeah" Chris said almost sarcastically but cracked a smile. "So how long you been at it?" Chris asked wondering how long Vansen had been working on starship and flying through the stars.

"Joined Starfleet in '82," Vansen said because he guessed what was what he meant. "But I was born in space, so...here I am."

“I’m a Starfleet brat” Evans made air quotes with his fingers. “Mom and dad are both officers and I followed in their foot steps, obviously” he smiled a big smile.

"I did the opposite. Not following in my parents' footsteps," Vansen said as he watched him. It was strange, that he had such a similar yet different background from the people he knew who were born amongst the stars. Or grew up amongst them.

"Well either way here we are" Evans smiled "and I'm glad to have you on my team mister Vansen."

[OFF]

Lt. Commander Christopher Evans
Chief Operations Officer

&

PO3 Constantin Vansen
Operations Officer
[PNPC Hanlon]

 

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