Silent Movie

Posted on Mon Feb 2nd, 2026 @ 2:58pm by Petty Officer 2nd Class Quinn Sullivan & Lieutenant JG Jenna Jade

Mission: A Princess Of Tial
Location: Shuttlebay

Quinn sat in the navigation chair of the runabout, cleaning a piece of the transporter with a degauzer. He'd been working on this runabout since leaving Tial. Being the lone worker in the shuttlebay made the work slower than other ships, but he had total control and comfort in knowing it was done correctly. On the rare occasions when it was unavoidably a two-man job, he'd requested assistance from Engineering. They'd sometimes send the irate redhead, and sometimes the timid blonde. And on one occasion, when he hadn't requested anyone, a very angry southern brunette.

Since he hadn't requested any assistance for this project, hearing the doors to the corridor open and close made him look up in surprise. He assumed it was going to be a temporary interruption and continued to work on the part, assuming the person would either go about their business or see the open hatch and come find him.

Jenna had glanced around as she entered the shuttlebay and sighed heavily. She’d been release to ‘light duty’ by Kally that morning and been instructed by none other than Cally herself to stay out of main engineering. The order had felt bitter at first to the young woman, but then when she’d explained it was to keep everyone from automatically deferring to her while the department went without an official head.

So she’d logged in from her quarters, where a box had been delivered with the few personal effects she’d had in her office previously. She went through the repairs list and selected everything she could from one particular section. She’d been good with small craft back in the Academy, along with power systems, so taking the low level priority list for the shuttlebay would make both of the other women happy with her. So here she was and her eyes spotted the open hatch of the runabout and her feet had made their way towards it. If it was an engineer, she’d have to reevaluate the assignment and her heart beat quickly until she caught a glimpse of red in the uniform and she exhaled deeply.

It was Quinn, ‘The Ghost’ and she knocked on the side of the shuttle to make her presence known and hefted her duffel bag with the calligraphic JJ intertwined on the side in engineering gold lettering. “Mornin’.” She said simply to the other, an inquisitive look on her face.

Quinn nodded politely and offered a friendly wave. She didn't look like she was in a particularly good mood again, but this time she seemed more subdued. He decided it might be best to give her some space and respect her privacy. Still, she didn't look like she should be alone with her thoughts too much. He gestured to the pilot's chair next to him, turning it so she could sit down and make herself comfortable.

She set her bag down behind the pilot's chair and settled into it as he graciously gave her permission, or at least his assent to keep company with her. It was actually a true relief for her, having someone else around rather than doing things on her own. She watched him for a handful of seconds as she realized what he was doing and she turned to the console in front of her, holding her hands over it for a few seconds, then after no objection was forthcoming, keyed it to life and did a rapid diagnostic on both internal and external sensors, grimacing as she saw the results. She pulled her tricorder out and began the laborious process of recalibrating the internal sensors, cutting off the rest of the inputs again so they wouldn't corrupt any of the data.

Quinn watched her and went back to his transporter parts. He didn't mind the help, although he didn't feel he necessarily needed it. One of the perks of being the only one on his job was he could work all the hours he wished, and keep to himself. Still, he appreciated she wasn't talking his ear off like last time. Then again, that probably meant something was on her mind. He glanced at her again, but didn't interrupt her focus. If she wanted to discuss it, she would. If there was one thing five sisters had taught him, it was that if a woman had something to say, she'd say it. He put down the part he finished and went on to inspect the next one, flipping open his tricorder and scanning it slowly.

Jenna exhaled deeply as she focused on the readings that she was seeing. She reached under the console and removed the panel by feel before plucking out one of the isolinear crystals that the Danube-class runabouts still used even after all this time. She knew which one it was of the four, without even looking and examined it by eye before scanning it, bringing up another feature on the tricorder and grimacing as she saw the results of it. She turned in her seat and glanced around the cockpit and saw the replacement parts on the opposite side of Quinn. She gave him a gentle nudge when she spotted that he was finished reviewing his own scans and held out the rod to him with a brief quirk of a smile which faded almost as instantly as it had formed.

Quinn took it and reached into the box of spare isolinear chips, pulling out the one she required, plus two more she'd probably need. He handed them to her, giving her a small, kind smile in return, even though hers had faded. He turned back to the transporter and replaced the last part and opened his own tricorder, finishing his diagnostics. When everything showed in the green, he nodded in satisfaction and went back to his seat next to Jenna, turning to the console and inspecting the helm station. Since Jenna had taken over calibrating the sensors, he decided resetting the helm controls would be in order. He'd already physically scraped the phosphorus off the shuttle's exterior, the bussard collectors and what systems it had gotten into, which were several, so at least now they could effect these repairs unencumbered.

They worked in silence for a fair amount of time, each of them focused on their own work. She had indeed needed both of the extra chips, her actually sliding off of the seat to sit on the floor to access the panel that much easier. Inside, she kept dwelling on the previous several days and realized that it had actually been a few weeks that she'd been abusing the stims that had put her in this position. Her descent into what could only be termed as madness had been gradual and her pace slowed as she marinated in it. Finally she closed the panel and got to her knees to check the readouts on the console with a nod. She keyed in a standard test scan with what would be predictable results. As she did, she turned her head to watch Quinn for the few seconds it would take.

Quinn's head had just turned back to his work just as she looked over, and he gave a nod of satisfaction. The helm had, thankfully, resisted any physical damage during the ride through the atmosphere, and resetting it was taking no time at all. He began running through checks of the shield systems next.

The console beeped softly to remind her that she had results and Jenna keyed the scrolling function and scanned everything as the list went on, everything looking proper. She released the lock she'd placed on the console and leaned back in seat she'd taken again to consider what would be next. Deflector control, that would be important as well and she brought them up shaking her head. The deflector dish itself would need replacement. While it had been cleaned, the first diagnostic made it clear that the equipment had been degraded and she sat there, shoulders slumped. Replaced. Just like she'd had to be. It was humiliating to have that happen, no matter the situation. Her hands got to work, albeit at a snail's pace to make sure that it was just the physical dish that would need to be worked on.

Quinn saw her body movement and looked over at the results, frowning. The deflector dish was going to have to be replaced based on those readings. He'd hoped they'd get past that one. He let his diagnostics run and turned towards her grabbing his tool kit and shrugging.

Her face was turned down towards the console as her fingers tapped slowly at the keys, precisely making the selections she needed to make. She set up a new scan for the deflector, which would take a few minutes at least. Plenty of time for her to... She saw the first bead of moisture hit the console, followed quickly by another and another. Then she realized that her shoulders were shaking and she became suddenly embarrassed as she realized she was crying in front of this stranger, so she turned in her own seat, preparing to get up to leave.

As he'd told her, Quinn was the eldest of six children, and the only boy. A girl's tears were something he'd seen and had to deal with far too often. He knew better than to pry, and he knew if she wanted to talk about it, she'd have said something. He also knew that no one liked to cry in front of people, but no one wanted to be abandoned when they were at their lowest. So, he did what any big brother would do. He moved around her, knelt by her, and put his arms around her shoulders, and let her rest her head on his. He didn't judge, he didn't ask, he didn't push. He just held her and let her get out whatever she needed to get out, knowing someone was there to support her.

The movement that he had made was so sudden that Jenna couldn’t even get to her feet before he had wrapped his arms around her shoulders and the gentleness had caused the last remnants of her self control to fall away again as they had the previous few evenings. The inhaled sob was the first noise either of them had emitted since she’d walked in that morning and that was cut off as she buried her face in his shoulder and cried. It felt like she was back home, after a particularly crushing defeat on the court as Andrew had held her just like this. Safety. She felt safe right here as she had then. If anyone had walked into the shuttlebay, they would have heard nothing, no wail or sobbing, because she didn’t say anything, didn’t make a sound as he poured out her despair.

She didn’t even know how long it had been when she finally stopped shuddering and raised her head, eyes red and puffy to look at Quinn. She still couldn’t bring herself to break the silence, but her eyes said it all, the appreciation despite the redness. Her mouth moved in a ‘Thank you,’ but no words came out.

Quinn nodded and gave her one more hug, then sat back and sighed. That deflector dish wasn't going to repair itself. He reached for his tool kit and patted Jenna's knee, letting her know he'd handle it, then stood up and headed for the door.

Jenna used a sleeve to wipe her eyes as she watched him leave the shuttle. This was a humiliating event for her and he'd not said anything about it at all. The fact that he wasn't very social only made it more likely that he'd never breathe a word of it. She sniffed hard and keyed the console to life, making sure that the power was cut off to the deflector area and started the preparations to integrate the new one once it was installed. She could use this time to gather herself together once more.

As Quinn finished his work, he wiped his hands, smiling in satisfaction at another job done. He saw Jenna emerge from the shuttle and gave her a nod and a smile, glad for her help. He would ask her to stay, but he could tell she'd been through a lot just being there, and he was willing to let her go. "Goodbye," he said, his voice gentle and quiet as always.

This time it was her turn to give him a tentative smile and a wave before she turned to leave the shuttlebay. It was a relief, the quietude that had passed between them. And both of them knew it.