Meeting the Damage Control Specialist

Posted on Friday July 2nd, 2021 @ 2:25pm by Ensign Lethe Sivarr & Lieutenant Commander Paul Sharpe

1,731 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: S1-A1-Ep. 1: Spectrophobia
Location: Various/Engineering
Timeline: After meeting the new DCEO

[ON]

After getting his DCEO settled in Paul got word that a new Damage Control specialist had not long come aboard, and as Paul lived and breathed, who should come walking into Main Engineering but a young Ensign of an unfamiliar species, standing up he tugged down his tunic and exited his office. "Ensign Sivarr my new Damage Control specialist I presume?" He asked approaching the new arrival.

While it was far from Lethe's first visit to the engineering section of this particular class of starship, it was the first time he'd been in one that was, for all intents and purposes, still alive and breathing. The warp core was active and online, consoles and displays were active and displaying their information, and the area was active with the regular duties of the crew present.

Stirring himself from his thoughts, Lethe turned and straightened at the approach of an older officer, the chief engineer if he was recalling the profile picture correctly regarding his department head. "Aye sir," he replied, arms half spread as he dipped his head respectfully. "Ensign Lethe Sivarr, at your service, Commander."

"Hello, Ensign Lethe Sivarr, come into my office, if you do not mind me asking Ensign, what is your Species, you are the first encounter for me?" Sharpe asked curiously as they entered his office, he indicated the seat opposite his desk and walked over to his replicator "could I offer you a drink Ensign?" He asked.

Lethe nodded once. "Thank you, sir, water would be fine. In a bottle, if you please." It was an interesting distinction between his own people and most Federation races that would usually show up whenever he was offered a refreshment for the first time; Rechakan's have no lips. Having evolved that way it was no handicap, but utilizing some of the hardware of other races -like a spoon or cup- was either awkward, messy, or both. A bottle worked far better, and it was no more difficult for the replicator to produce than it was to create a cup.

"I'm Rechakan," he continued, answering the chief's initial question. "From the planet Tharos, along the outer galactic rim. Starfleet initiated first contact with us about twenty years ago, and while some of us do consultation or commercial work within the Federation, I am aware of only two others ever having joined Starfleet."

Smiling "you are my first Rechakan," he said and looked at the replicator "one bottle of water cold and a Sharpe special," he said and the replicator produced the requested items. Sharpe picked them up and walked back to his desk and handed the Ensign the bottle as he sat down and took a sip of his tea, as he sat back "so Ensign, what made you decide to join Starfleet and I know you are my new Damage Control Specialist but do you have any specialities that I should know about?" He asked.

Taking a seat across from the chief, Lethe considered the question as he opened the top of the bottle with a twist, and tipped his head back for a swig, before resealing it. "Curiosity, I suppose. When service in Starfleet became an option back home, I thought I would give it a shot, maybe end up seeing a lot more of the galaxy than I would be serving in our own fleet. Someone needs to go first, right? And there's always a need for those who keep the walls up, whether they be city walls or starship bulkheads, so engineering, and damage control, just seemed like a natural progression. I cannot say it's another specialty, but I've had a couple of years of experience in breaking down and salvaging from..." Lethe paused looking around for a moment. "Well, from several of the Poseidon's sister ships, anyway."

Sharpe looked at the Ensign with a deadpan look and simply raised an eyebrow "I see" his tone was as neutral as his face "Well I ask about specialities as unless we suffer damage you will need to find something else to do" Sharpe said as he picked up a padd and looked at it and tapped something in then put the padd down as he looked around his engineering was a hub of activity, this was good. "When we have finished here Ensign and you have dropped your stuff in your quarters, I want you to do an internal hull inspection we are in the Betrekka Nebula and I want to make sure the nebula is not leaving any damage to my ship," Sharpe said and finally smiled.

"Of course Commander. You needn't worry, in general engineering theory and principles, I graduated in the top sixty per cent of my class!" The ensign gave a proud nod. "I haven't yet caught up on all of the briefing material that was provided on this assignment; does the composition or properties of this particular nebula have known deleterious effects on the hull or ship's systems?"

"It is a nebula, they are never good to any ship, but as for the nebula's composition I am no stellar expert, but I believe in being prepared, the ship is an old ship which is coming to the end of its lifespan so I want to make sure the damage from the nebula is kept to a minimum," he said finally smiling at the Ensign.

"And so it shall be," Lethe agreed. "I'll begin the standard analysis of the structural integrity fields and deflector grid output, look for any anomalies that might indicate hull erosion. After that, a more detailed, personal inspection of all the weak points known for this starship design." He gave the chief engineer a nod. "Rest assured Commander, I will not allow Poseidon to be added to those scrapyards where I previously worked."

Raising an eyebrow "excellent Ensign, are there any more questions you need to ask before I let you go about your duties?" He asked then he remembered something and once again pulled out the pirated Isolinear chip and showed the Ensign "also, on your inspections, if you see any Iso chips like this one or similar, contact me immediately, we fear that there may be more than this one placed on this ship, we do not know where they are, but suspect that key systems are the targets, so be mindful of anything that may seem out of place in such regards" he added.

The Rechakan took the chip, turning it over in his hand a few times, then held it up to squint at it against the light. "Well, I didn't have questions before, but I do now. Key systems are targeted. Was it brought aboard during a maintenance layover, or was it more likely at a less obvious time, through more covert means?"

"We do not truthfully know, but we suspect that if any more like that one were planted it was when this ship was at Spacedock being retro-fitted, so while there is little or no chance of a spy among the crew, I cannot speak for the shipyard the ship was docked at" Sharpe responded.

"I don't expect they'll be found in every access port I open or you would have had found a great many more by now, but I will keep my eyes open for them while I work." He studied the chip for a moment longer, then handed it back to Sharpe. "What was it meant to do?"

"That one was found recently Ensign it was interfering with ships shield systems and other stuff related to the safety of this ship, we have only just started to look for any more until we found that chip we had no idea that we had been compromised whatsoever, now we know and a search has begun in earnest, this is why I am letting you know about these things, as we are bound to encounter things that will damage us and as you will be doing a sweep of all areas you should know and we have had some minor damage from the Nebula we are in," Sharpe said.

"I will endeavor to remain vigilant," the Rechakan promised. "And on a more personal note, I am looking forward to serving with you and the rest of this department. In time, I hope to earn my place aboard this ship, and justify the trust you have placed in me." He dipped his head, four hands partly spread with respect.

Nodding in mutual respect "you already have earned a place here Ensign, you would not have been posted here, had you not earned it, but I know what you mean, I am sure you will adjust eventually, Lieutenant Kord will be your section head report to him, tell him that I am assigning you to his team" Sharpe said making a note on his Padd.

"Report to Kord, keep an eye out for counterfeit data chips, and ensure the nebula does not corrode through the hull," Lethe summarized thoughtfully before taking a quick swig from the water bottle. "I may not be actively engaged in damage control, but I don't believe there's much risk of having enough idle time to get bored, either." He gave the chief a nod. "Not to worry, sir, I will keep the walls intact, the wilds will not breakthrough on my watch. Or... the nebula, rather. Regardless, it's been good to meet you, and I appreciate your time."

Looking at the Ensign "we will see each other again Ensign, but I suppose we cannot put off our work any longer, we do have our own work to do, so get dump your items in your quarters and then report to Lieutenant Kord, but otherwise, we are done here" Sharpe said.

"Aye sir." Dismissed, Lethe straightened to attention, dipped his head once, then turned to let himself out of the office, the cogs in his head churning as he began recalling his past experiences aboard other Miranda class vessels, looking for insight on where the hull might be most vulnerable to the nebula's effects.

With a final nod Sharpe watched the young Ensign leave his office, when he had left his sight he pulled out a Padd, it had the frequency and other data which would aid in detecting anymore of those dang chips.

[OFF]

Lt Cmdr Paul Sharpe
Chief Engineering Officer

&

Ensign Lethe Sivarr
Damage Control Specialist

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