Quick Fix and a Bite to Eat

Posted on 242007.12 @ 2:37pm by Ensign Rajnil Mukherjee & Lieutenant Hober Mallow

Mission: Reconstruction and Refocus
Location: Bridge

=/\= Bridge =/\=

Mallow's afternoon of administration tasks was interrupted by a call to the bridge by the on-duty operations officer. The diversion was very much welcome, as the engineer rather be upside down in a bridge console than working on personnel reviews and assignments. The reported issue was minor, a small unaccounted power flux from a secondary Ophram relay in one of the auxiliary science consoles. On any other deck, this would be something the night shift could look at, but on the Bridge, every issue was attended to immediately.

The turbolift's familiar whirring stopped signaling its arrival, the doors slid open admitting Mallow onto the Bridge. The sight brought an instant grin to his face. Even docked with a Starbase the bridge was alive with activity. He made a mental note to come up more often and stored it with the hundreds of other mental notes of the same nature. He was a basement dweller.

Rajnil was busy inspecting the controls of the ship. He was quite excited. The hustle and bustle around him and the busy look on the people's faces created a serious sort of environment, but yet he could not help but smile. He looked up and stretched his back a little. He caught sight of the Chief Engineer getting out of the lift. He decided that perhaps it was a good opportunity to introduce himself.He went up to the Chief Engineer to have a chat with him. "Hello Chief, this is Ensign Rajnil Mukherjee, the new Helm Officer", and stretched out his hand for a handshake.

Mallow took a moment to register the hand before him and the words that came with it, eventually extending his own in greeting. "Hello Ensign Mu..Mukhe.....Ensign Rajnil."

Mallow disengaged his hand embarrassingly and immediately brought it up to his face, picking at the blue wadi paint on his right side. "I'm Lieutenant Hober Mallow. I'm terribly sorry, can you repeat your name, I'm awful with some Terran syllables."

Rajnil laughed. "It's okay, Chief. Many people find it difficult to pronounce it. It is MUKH-ER-JEE... Anyway, what brings the Chief Engineer to the bridge?"

Mallow tried sounding out the syllables silently before responding, "Minor issue in one of the science stations" he said pointing to one of the unmanned consoles the ring the bridges outer wall.

"Why don't you give me a hand? You look like you know your way with an ODN recoupler".

"Sure!! Why not? However, unfortunately I do not have quite a sound knowledge about Engineering as a whole, yet I will try to help you out as much as I can. I could learn a thing or two, too. I hope it won't be a problem...?"

"Heck no, I enjoy sharing."

Mallow led the two of them to the console in question and as he knelt down underneath, reaching out to pry the panel away from the wall, started a new line of questioning, "So how does it feel knowing you're the prime pilot for this beauty? You are on alpha shift right?"

"Well, I guess I am, but I will just ask someone just to be sure. As for my feelings regarding this job, although I have just been through Academy training and this is my very first ship, it is indeed mind-blowing to be assigned to the legacy of one of the greatest ships in Starfleet history....",Rajnil grinned.

Rajnil knelt down, and looked at the things which the panel revealed. Although he was not so aware about Engineering in general, but at the Academy, he had been taught some basics just in case the controller stopped responding or in case of some emergency like that. "So, Chief, for how many days have you been on this ship as Engineer?"

Mallow unlatched the case of tools he brought with him and pulled out a short flat piece of hardware with blinking lights at its tip, "There is some legacy in here, that's for sure, " he said pointing the tool at the exposed circuitry.

"I have been here for over a year or so now? I'd have to look at my record to give you a more exact date... my sense of time gets warped in Engineering." He chuckled lightly at his own pun.

Mallow offered the Gluon Redistributor to Rajnil, "See that relay behind the ODN conduit?"

Rajnil looked at the object being pointed at, "Yeah, what about it?"

"Give it a prod with this here a frequency of 0.2425 and watch how the Ophram relay reacts," He said flipping the tool over handing it non-pointy side towards Rajnil.

Rajnil took the device in his hand and set the frequency. He had previously worked with the device at the Academy, but it had been so long ever since. However, it was quite easy. He told what he was asked to do, and had a look at the relay.

Mallow took an engineering padd off his belt and held it close to the relay as it started making some new chirps. "So what is the latest new popular pass time at the Academy these days?" Mallow asked.

"Well, I was never a kind of guy who took much interest in these kind of things. I was always engrossed in my training and studies. Though as far as I remember, there was this trend going on, where cadets often would wear some sort of amulet, signifying something which they believed in.... Although that's too common, I presume. As for pass-time, people are now going back to the classics. They have all started playing Counter Strike, but this time on large holographic screens. It is popular especially among humans."

"Interesting" Mallow said picking at his blue face paint. "Human's give my people a run for their latinum for being the most competitive in the galaxy."

The engineering padd started chirping in a steady pattern, "Stop there."

Rajnil stopped. "Well, what do you think? Is it fixed?"

"It should be" Mallow said standing up, brushing off his thighs from muscle memory. He activated the science console and tapped a few symbols on the terminal. He cycled through the latest lateral sensor array data streams. "Looks like we are in business."

Rajnil stood up. "So when do you think we will be leaving the Space Station? Anytime soon?"

"Not sure, I haven't been briefed on our next mission yet". He picked at his face paint again. He hadn't even heard whispers of what their next assignment was, which was concerning.

"I'm sure we will be underway soon, they won't keep the pride of the fleet wasting time for long." He bent over and picked up the panel to put back in place.

"I can't wait to try that slipstream drive. Say, could I get a copy of the ship specifications? It wouldn't hurt if the pilot knew a thing or two about the ship he is flying." He patted the science station console. "Want to grab a bite from the station cafeteria? I heard they have some excellent tea down there. I have always appreciated a good cup of tea."

"Your Terran tea is not a drink I am fond of, but I welcome the company and trip." He held his hand out for the tool Rajnil still held.

"A copy would be a security issue and complete engine specifications may be above your rank," he smirked, "but I can't say what I might accidentally leave accessible on a terminal in Engineering."

"Thanks for the help." Rajnil handed over the redistributer to the Lieutenant. "Well, surely there would be something in the cafeteria which would spark your interest, Chief. I am sure we will find it." He smiled, and both of them boarded the turbolift, leaving behind the bridge, buzzing with activity. Rajnil took one fleeting glance at the bridge before the doors slid shut. It was a nice first day.

END LOG

Lieutenant Hober Mallow
Chief Engineer
USS Enterprise

Ensign Rajnil Mukherjee
Helm Officer
USS Enterprise