Tinkering

Posted on Wednesday, 2 February 2022 - 2:04pm by Petty Officer 1st Class Siana Ilian

Mission: Operation: Crimson Kaleidoscope

There was something therapeutic about engineering... perhaps it was the constant noise of the engines, or the sense of achievement when faced with something that was broken but was now once more working as good as new. Or perhaps it was just familiar. Or all three.


While technically overseeing Operations, getting the Standing Bear repaired was a priority for everyone. Doing her small part to right the wrongs of the imposter who had taken Commander Soral’s place, Ilian had spent any free time she had with repair crews. Everything from crawling through the bowels of the ship to fixing broken sinks or replicators - to the young woman it didn't matter. Like everyone, she did not enjoy the thought of someone being able to impersonate their first officer, sabotage the ship and abduct their science officer. At least working through the list of repairs made her feel useful, that she was helping.

Even if that was just by making sure someone got their coffee rather than an orange for breakfast that morning.


Of course the chief engineer was back, although Ilian had not seen much of her. It wasn't that she was avoiding Hamura, more that she figured the engineer had more than enough to deal with. She was, after all, looking to help - not be an annoyance.


And so Ilian had focused on her duties and repairing what she could. Fortunately she was an engineer at heart and a quick study - allowing her to venture off alone much of the time to work through a long list of repairs and recalibrations. It beat being alone in her quarters and this was more useful than watching an old movie. Even though she was starting to enjoy the old Sherlock Holmes movies.


Humming an old song she continued to work, updating main engineering on her progress and happy to see she was making good time. “Still got it,” she grinned before packing up her kit and climbing up the ladders to the next junction before making her way out into a corridor which seemed insanely spacious after an hour or two in such a confined area. Glancing down at her PaDD, she took a deep breath, turned on her heels and headed off in the direction of the crew quarters.


The repair list seemed, well... vague. Only stating 'multiple issues'.


Reaching the door she pressed the door chime and from the rather flat, warbled tone, she took a guess at the first item needing fixed. She tapped on the padd to make a note of it, glancing up when the door opened, for a moment completely lost for words. Which was unusual for Ilian, although for Siana not so much.

"You heard that right?" Lieutenant Connelly asked, forgoing any normal greeting as he pointed up. She assumed he meant the door chime and simply nodded. "Thank god, I was beginning to think I'd maybe gone insane or picked up some kind of parasite in my ear -"

As he spoke he turned away and retreated inside his quarters and so Siana stepped over the threshold as well, letting the door slide closed in her wake. "Well," she began, keeping her voice light and friendly, "I'm sure we can fix it. I'm Siana, Siana Ilian. I don't think we've met."

Ethan turned back to face her, seeming shocked to realise he had been rather rude. "Oh! Apologies, no, I don't think we have, I'm Ethan Connelly," he explained, stepping forward as he held out a hand, clearly meaning for her to shake it.

Siana was sure all would have been perfectly fine from that point on. Save for a couple of small details.

Just a couple of minutes earlier, Ethan Connelly had been in he shower and upon hearing the abomination of a door chime, he had grabbed a towel and tied it around his waist. Meaning that his sole item of clothing upon meeting the petty officer was a standard issue towel tied in a haphazard manner befitting someone in a rush. It was not, however, a knot which had any hope of staying put and as if in slow motion, she could see events unfold with wide, horrified eyes.

Ethan, for his part, managed to snatch at the towel as it began to fall, holding it against him as he stood in a stunned silence for a moment before trying to pull the towel around him and preserve any semblance of modesty. "I..." he was trying to think of the right thing to say or do, coming up empty.

"Nice... towel," Siana offered with a small smile before the two of them broke into a fit of laughter. The kind that can only arise out of awkward situations. When she was able to speak, she pointed to the door, "maybe I could get to work on fixing the door chime and you could find some clothes?"

Ethan nodded, his smile sheepish. "Will do," he agreed as he headed towards his bedroom. "Not a great first impression."

Siana watched him go, grinning. They'd have to agree to disagree on that one.

Remind herself that she had a job to do she got to work, beginning to strip back the panelling around side of the door. She was hard at work when Connelly returned, now in full uniform. And he still looked great. Just more left to the imagination. She smiled to herself, shaking her head. She was too old for such childish flights of fancy. "So, the work order said multiple problems," she commented while she worked, "what else is the problem?"

She was soon wishing she hadn't asked.