An Engineering In Discord

Posted on Sat Aug 14th, 2021 @ 9:06pm by Lieutenant Commander Tyler Driskill

Mission: The Boneyard Heist

Tyler was supposed to have help getting every thing lined out with the internal sensor that were malfunctioning on several decks. However Ensign Morris never reported for duty so Tyler went on with out him. It took double the time of course, but it was done.

One of his duties was to check in on thing in engineering. Tyler didn't like the fact that things kept getting further and further behind schedule. As he stepped inside engineering it seemed almost like a ghost town. "Who's in charge?" Tyler asked a young man who tried to walk by him without making eye contact.

"Davenport si...sir" he pointed toward what would be the Chief Engineers office and Tyler was on his way.

Laura Davenport had her feet up on the desk in the Chief's office, staring at a PADD held in both hands when she saw the tall figure walk through the doorway, then waved a hand at him as she continued to do something on the PADD, "Welcome to Engineering, Commander, what can I try to help you with?"

"I take it you are the senior officer here?" Driskill asked her standing just inside the door way with his hands folded behind his back.

She glanced back up at him again for a moment, "Yup, that's right, I am." She confirmed, "I've been doing a review of what needs to get done on board and what's needed to do it with and ooooh, boy, we've got our work cut out for us, I'll tell you."

That was exactly what Tyler was here for. "What" he was getting frustrated with this woman "Yes why don't you tell me" he had taken a few steps inside the office by this time.

Laura sighed and hauled her feet off the desk, making it sound like it was the worst possible thing she could possibly have to do, "The Captain, well, Commander Skyie, told us that we were to be underway in a week? Not a chance, Commander,." She shook her head, waving the PADD so that only the back of it was showing towards him, "I've got a list four pages long of repairs that need to be made. Structural integrity is overall at about eighty percent and God knows that if we go to warp, one of the nacelles will just snap off."

She put the PADD facedown on the desk right in front of her, "That's if we can even get to warp, because the dilithium matrix is shot, no one put it away properly and I doubt we've got enough power to generate a warp field, much less for very long. Nonetheless, I've got a couple of those Ensigns working on tuning the nacelles to one another for when we get a new set of crystals. I did a check, and the Luna-type matrices are running about three months behind at the moment, so yeah." Laura gave Tyler a smug look.

Tyler locked eyes with Davenport "Lieutenant" he paused for a split second "My first suggestion to you is to drop the attitude, we are all working to get this ship back in working order." The First Officer crossed his arms and continued "I've got a report to get to the Commander and I really don't have time for a bunch of bull shit" Tyler went for the PADD she laid down on the desk, thinking it might be a prioritized list of what needed the most attention.

She snatched it back, holding it close as she tapped it, "Commander, for all the repairs that need to be done, we require approximately three hundred and forty-six tons of replicator mass and we've got one hundred and twenty-two. I've got some of the most critical parts working on being done, but there's only so much we can do. I've got a requisition out for the replicator mass, sent it to three different people and obviously asked for a high priority on the crystals." She gave him a wary look, "Why, is someone saying I'm not doing my job?"

"I'm saying you aren't doing your job" he glared at her "when I know there is plenty to be done and I find you sitting on your ass with your feet propped up on someone else desk" his voice was starting to raise. "I want a copy of your requisitions as perhaps I can get further with them" by this time he was standing at the desk looking her dead in the eyes. "Also Lieutenant if I make a staffing assignment, don't change it with out consulting me" Tyler was giving her a look.

Her eyes narrowed as if he had struck her, "The first proper task of doing a job is to make sure it's known what needs to be done. I got on board yesterday and I've somehow managed to figure out what needs to be fixed on this ship already and I don't think I've got it all figured out even now." She pointedly didn't hand over the PADD, "I'll send over the complete list when I compile the final set." She folded her arms across her chest with the PADD clutched firmly.

"Hard headed one" he scoffed at her. "Let me tell you now Lieutenant Junior Grade" he put emphasis on the Junior Grade "you've got a lot to learn."

Her eyes opened wide from the not-so-hidden threat, "You can't threaten me! I see how it is, you and Commander Skyie are against me... You don't want me to be here, neither of you! You don't even know what's wrong with YOUR ship and you don't want someone who actually knows what they're doing to see what no one else does, is that what it is? Well, 'Sir', you're not going to intimidate me into sending reports to Starfleet Engineering that are false, no-sir-ee, you won't, I'm going to tell them the truth of the matter and you can't take a ship out that isn't fit for service." She slammed the PADD down on the table in front of her, face-down, half-rising from her seat, "I bet you don't even know how to service your replicator, much less understand what the ship needs to be able to run properly. You want the Fleet to think that the Chimera is ready to go when it's just a death-trap in waiting!"

"That's not it at all" Tyler said shaking his head "I don't want to be out there in a busted up ship anymore then you do." Tyler sighed and looked away and then back at Laura "Look, I apologize". he quickly added "Any chance we can start over?" the First Officer asked hoping his charm might get him through this.

Laura let herself fall back into her seat, wary, but pleased with the reaction. She gave him what she wanted to look like a careful look as she did so, she couldn't just 'forgive' him, that would look too suspicious, "I suppose so..." She slowly granted him, best to soothe the waters a bit, "But, Commander, I'm not kidding when I tell you how bad of shape the ship is in.. We really need to spend at least a month in true overhaul status to get where we need to. The Skipper is absolutely not going to want to hear it, so I'm still trying to find out how to tell her.. Maybe if you brought it up with her first, to soothe the waters?"

"You're right she isn't going to want to hear this" he thought for a second "so we work on the systems critical to get us underway and continue repairs as we go" it was the only thing they could do.

Victory. She’d won, perhaps this would work out after all, “If, and I mean if, we pry a dilithium matrix out of Fleet hands and I get some more engineers so we can focus on our structural problems, we can forgo a formal overhaul and I can probably Get us underway in about three or four weeks, slowly at first so we can perform all the stress tests and adjustments while working on the rest of the ship.”

"I'll work on getting that matrix" Tyler gave a nod.

"Thank you, sir." This time, there was absolutely no sarcasm involved in the word, no emphasis on it whatsoever. In victory, there was grace and forgiveness, "As soon as I get this prioritized, I'll send it to you." She promised before she picked up the PADD again, a clear dismissal to the XO as she perused it once again.