Department of Misfit Toys

Posted on Fri Aug 29th, 2025 @ 6:25pm by Lieutenant Commander Alexander Espersen & Petty Officer 2nd Class Sakura Tanikawa & Petty Officer 2nd Class Bradley Sharpe & Petty Officer 3rd Class Fulvia Benvenuto & Crewman Erika Yang & Crewman Apprentice T’Vel

Mission: Lower Decks

The USS Chimera seemed to have exactly two settings. In many ways, the default setting was ‘something is broken and we need to fix it.’ The ship’s very origin as a combination of multiple damaged Luna-class ships, with new refits on top of it, seemed to cause a breakdown in something every day, and this far from Federation space, enemies were everywhere, causing damage with advanced, heretofore unseen weapons.

But as frequently as they needed to put out flames, there was also the second setting which was just as common: fanning them. The Chimera was earning a reputation as a force to be reckoned with, dealing damage to pirates and other scumbags that wanted to harm innocents.

The same two settings were true of the Chimera’s crew. They knew how to take care of themselves and each other, effecting repairs when things broken down (putting out flames) and enjoying each other’s most intimate company and the drama associated therewith (fanning them).

Exceedingly rare was the quiet day of monotony and routine.

But a few crewmembers knew how to find those quiet moments. How to zone out altogether the flames, be they being put out or fanned.



(Sakura Voiceover) This episode of Chimera is called “Department of Misfit Toys”!

“Alright, you lot.” Espersen stood in Cargo Bay One addressing the team of junior officers and enlisted types that he had slowly been assembling. Others who had been cast away from other assignments, and who faced struggles even here on the Chimera, but who Espersen thought could be salvaged.

“Today, we’re giving support to the engineering department,” he continued. “Everyone in Starfleet has at least some amount of general starship knowledge. If you ever wake up alone on the Chimera, you should be able to get it reasonably operational and to warp, or get the transceiver online, or otherwise ensure your own survival. Today, we’re helping Chief Engineer Fletcher and Assistant Chief Jade with their repair backlog, so we're at one-hundred percent when we get to Tial. And in doing so, we're also keeping our own skills sharp.” He started handing out assignments on PADDs. “Benvenuto, you’re with T’Vel. Sharpe, you’re with Yang. Tanikawa, you’re with me. Report in after each assigned task is completed. These should all be doable with the instructions you have, but if you have a legitimate problem, call Lieutenant Jade or myself. Any questions.”

Brad Sharpe’s hand went up first. The chemist. He had a small distillation setup the quarters he shared with T’Vel, who did cargo manifest work in Ops. She didn’t seem to mind. “Sir, every day, it’s ’you lot’ or something else dismissive. I think we need a collective name.”

“What value is that?” T’Vel asked.

“Sometimes his names for us get mean,” Erika Yang answered for him. She was a unit clerk in sickbay.

“Maybe some Lower Decks pun?” Sharpe suggested. “Or something alliterative with Espersen?”

“You’re thinking like Rico’s Roughnecks, but for this guy?” Benvenuto asked. “I’m not sure that works.”

“I’ve always thought of us like the Department of Misfit Toys,” Sakura said, her voice ethereal as always.

“You would,” her roommate shot back. Fulvia grinned. “Except that name could apply to the whole flippin’ ship, amirite?”

“If that’s all,” Espersen quickly chimed in impatiently, interrupting the flow, “then let’s get to it.”

**

Sakura Tanikawa hummed very softly to herself as she decoupled the dozens of connectors holding the large EPS relay. And while she did that, Espersen talked. And talked. She drowned out most of it, catching the key words related to the job. Move. Lift. Plasma. Connect. A handful of other bits filtered through as well. Home. Academy. Listening. Markova.

The job was straightforward. Sakura was an engineer by trade, though her specialty was communications systems. It meant that she's done similar work on a smaller scale with more specialized systems. Still, he was right. It was good to refresh this more general skill.

In an hour they had replaced three large system-wide relays whose access points were in Cargo Bay One. That was when Espersen's commbadge went off.

"Benvenuto to Espersen. Sir, if you can spare Sakura we'd appreciate it. We're doing okay down here but some of these things are awkward. We could use another set of hands."

"Granted. She's on her way." Espersen nodded to Sakura to dismiss her. He finished attaching the access panel back to the bulkhead to watch her finish packing up and leave.

She was out of earshot when a clang and a yelp came from where she'd just left.

**

"He really does seem more mellow these days, doesn't he?" Bradley said as he adjusted the temperature on the plate heater. The group, absent the XO, was enjoying their lunch break inside his and T'Vel's quarters. They had replicated sandwiches and soft drinks and socialized while Bradley worked on one of his chemistry sets.

There were in fact three such sets in current operation, engaged in medium-length synthesis operations for a few close friends, including a form of moonshine for Fulvia and something else for Sakura, which the latter watched bubble on the heating plate. "How much longer?" she asked dreamily.

"This one will be ready tonight," he answered. "The full batch in six days."

She nodded. "Message me when it's done. I'll want to collect right away. I can get the rest later."

"Wait, aren't you coming to the Rec Lounge tonight?" Fulvia asked.

"I would prefer not to, if this is ready," Sakura answered.

"Fine, T'Vel will be my date then."

The Vulcan raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Need company?" Bradley asked Sakura.

She answered with an excited nod. "Bring some of that too please," she said, pointing to one of the other kits.

Fulvia threw a bottle cap at her roommate. "Hey! No pilfering my stash!"

**

The rest of the day went fairly smoothly. Espersen had stopped for the day, apparently having injured himself, and opted to finish his shift from the bridge. Without the boss underfoot, the five misfit toys managed to finish their workload, only needing to call Fletcher or Jade once when something was more complicated than predicted.

True to her word, Fulvia managed to drag T'Vel to the rec lounge -- where quite a few people had gathered without any kind of planning.

Erika had a late shift and couldn't get out of it. Sickbay files didn't file themselves after all.

And deep in the Jeffries Tubes on the lowest deck of the ship, right next to the antimatter storage area, Sakura resumed her great work.

Bradley poured two glasses of his homemade rum and sat next to her with a book. "It's coming together well."

But she didn't hear him. She was in the zone.

She and her fellow misfit toys had put out the flames of faulty relays. And now some were fanning the flames of social drama in the rec lounge.

And Sakura?

She was finding her quiet moment.


END

Lieutenant Commander Alexander Espersen
Head Misfit Toy

Petty Officer 2nd Class Sakura Tanikawa
Spacey Misfit Toy

Petty Officer 2nd Class Bradley Sharpe
Experimental Misfit Toy

Petty Officer 3rd Class Fulvia Benvenuto
Loud Misfit Toy

Crewman Erika Yang
Organized Misfit Toy

Crewman Apprentice T'Vel
Put Upon Misfit Toy