Inspection Part 5: The Heart of the Ship

Posted on Wed Nov 20th, 2024 @ 6:42pm by Commander Scarlet Blake & Commander Cornelius 'Kit' Hanlon & Lieutenant JG Amari & Petty Officer 3rd Class Helliun Inant
Edited on on Wed Nov 20th, 2024 @ 8:15pm

1,019 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: To Boldly Go
Location: Main Engineering - Deck 8 - USS Fenrir
Timeline: Day 6, 13:40

ON - CONTINUED:

Main Engineering, Deck 8

"Eye up...here comes trouble," Hel looked over at Amari as the doors opened, revealing the Captain and First Officer. With their Chief still not onboard, they and the rest of the Engineering crew had scrambled around getting to grips with everything. An inspection wasn't great but she was sure that they had done enough. She straightened where she stood, looking at the Captain and First Officer...it was the first look at them she had gotten, so she was curious.

The white uniform of her species' navy looking decidedly dirty after getting stuck into familiarising herself with the ships engines and the way things worked Amari pulled herself out of an access hatch and came to attention when Hel's voice got her attention and she saw both the Captain; who she hadn't met and the Xo; who she had. Walking their way.

"Lieutenant Amari," Kit greeted her and gave her a small and friendly smile. "Thank you for holding the fort while we await our Chief Engineer's arrival." He wanted to acknowledge that this was not part of her usual...remit.

"You're welcome Sir," Amari replied smiling back slightly. "Petty officer Inant has been very helpful in familiarising me with the ship and starfleet engineering protocols."

Kit looked at the Axan’ka standing there, taking her in for a moment. "Good," he said, giving a nod. "I like it when an engineering team pulls together like that. Now, what's our status?" the last was more for Blake to be filled in.

Hel looked over at Amari, as the ranking officer, shifting slightly where she stood.

"We have not been able to inspect every part of the ship ourselves yet but the dockmasters reports are good. Main systems are running well on dockside power, our deuterium and antimatter tanks are full." Amari replied then glanced across to Hel. "I believe we could bring the warp core online in a couple more days, when the remainder of the department get here, we're still waiting for about eight engineers."

"Do we anticipate any lingering issues from the refit?" Blake asked with mild concern, watching them intently. She'd heard horror stories of legacy problems and refits backfiring...almost literally. Although she had learned to take nightmare launch stories with a pinch of salt over the years. She had a feeling that some of the top brass enjoyed putting the fear of Poseidon into the rank and file...and dialling up the drama in their stories from the glory days into the bargain.

"Some," Hel stepped in, knowing her way around engineering well. "Most of it will be finding the right power levels between the newer aspects of the warp core. The core itself is new, even has that new smell, the coolant system isn't, since the ship's coolant system had just been replaced before they decided to do the refit. We will need further tests to find the balance. The good thing is, once we've done that, well, it's the settings and they stay like that until either has to be changed out. If we upgrade, it'll most likely be easier than it will be in the coming days. Buuut..." she gave a small shrug, meeting Blake's eyes. "We work with what we got, Captain."

"Good to know," a slight hint of wryness made it through to the often level tone of the new Captain. "Will you need extra time to carry out your coolant tests before we move to a full ship wide system's test?" the only answer she wanted to hear was 'no'. The question was more of a...reminder that they were on a tight schedule with a ship wide test on the horizon, so had better get their skates on with any localised analysis that was still outstanding.

Hel took a moment before she gave a small shrug. "Stars watching us, we shouldn't put the ship behind schedule," she said lightly. This wasn't something new for engineering and it was the next thing on the list anyway.

Blake nodded lightly as she turned her attention to Amari. She was more than happy to have the exchange officer onboard; it was everything the Fleet stood for and she was only too pleased to encourage more such initiatives. "How are you finding your first Starfleet vessel so far?"

"Your technology is very advanced, I've been here only a day and have already seen things that would drive my people wild with curiosity." Amari replied.

"Well, if there's anything we can help you with...training, resources for projects...just let us know," Blake replied firmly, wanting her to know this was just as much about her experience and development as them gaining a talented pair of hands.

Hel smiled as she looked at Amari, liking that idea. "I am sure we will have some requests once we're embedded," she said, meaning it. "Captain."

Blake gave a slight nod of approval towards Hel at the enthusiasm, taking a moment to get a more thorough impression of the young engineer. She'd never worked with an Axan before, and she was more than just a little curious as to how her tribal like life experience would work within the fleet. "If there's nothing else...?"

"Nothing from me, Captain," Hel said as she gave a small shrug. "We will sort it all. It's what Engineering does."

"I should hope so..." Blake nodded briskly, motioning for them to carry on before leading Kit out and back to their route. She still felt uneasy at how close they were getting to launch without a Chief Engineer in place, but it seemed like the heart of their ship was in good hands for the interim. She glanced to Kit, the cooler professional demeanour warming just a touch as she met his eyes. "I look forward to seeing what they bring to the table..."

TBC:


Lieutenant JG Amari
Engineering Officer
USS Fenrir
[PNPC Masters]

Petty Officer 3rd Class Helliun Inant
Engineering Officer
USS Fenrir
[PNPC Hanlon]

Commander Cornelius 'Kit' Hanlon
First Officer
USS Fenrir

Commander Scarlet Blake
Commanding Officer
USS Fenrir

 

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