Tubing

Posted on Sun Sep 2nd, 2018 @ 10:17pm by Lieutenant Commander Charlotte Hudson & Lieutenant Naryi Avonavi

1,339 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Mission 0 - Christening of Legacy and Crew Arrival
Location: Engineering
Timeline: 2261.182 1130

Bec wandered into Engineering and looked around. It didn't look at that different from the Champlain's, aside from the different class specific things. Then again, she thought all Engineering areas looked the same. Eventually her eyes landed on Lieutenant Avonavi, who she only recognized because the woman's file was the last one she went over. "Lieutenant Avonavi? Do you have a moment?" she called over the din of noise and walked toward her.

Naryi was holding an electronic clipboard in one hand, eyeing the readout on a console in front of her, and shaking her head. She had transferred an article by Richard Daystrom to the clipboard, who was asserting that, once he got his multitronic computer to work, it would be possible for a starship equipped with a multronic computer to generate multiphase autocontainment fields and thus be able to phase lock the ship's warp fields above three percent. Naryi considered the proposal absurd. Naryi had a great respect for Dr. Daystrom's invention of the duotronic enhancer, but this multronic computer of his was a dead end.

Naryi was brought out of her musing by someone calling her name. Setting the clipboard down and brushing an errant lock of hair out of her face, she turned to address the owner of the voice.

"It's Commander Hudson, isn't it?" Naryi asked, extending her hand.

"It is," she shook the offered hand. "I just wanted to come introduce myself and check in. Have you already met with Captain Jackson?"

"Earlier in the shift, Commander," Naryi answered. An engineering officer handed an electronic clipboard to Naryu. The Chief Engineer read the clipboard, nodded to herself and signed the clipboard, then handed the stylus and clipboard back to the other engineer.

"I had meant to come up and meet you and the Captain," Naryi continued, "Sometime between now and the christening. Being a department head is still new to me, though. And the engineer in me kept on putting meeting my Captain and Executive Officer down on the 'to do' list. Apologies about that, Commander."

"Don't worry about it Lieutenant," Bec shrugged. "We both planned on touring the ship. And honestly, what better way to meet a person than in their environment where you can really see what they're like?" She looked around the room again before speaking again without giving Avonavi the chance to attempt to answer her rhetorical question. "How have you been settling in? Is there anything you need?"

Another officer took the opportunity to come up and present an electronic clipboard to Naryi. Naryi read it, frowned as she read the clipboard, and muttered to herself before turning her attention back to the XO. "Commander, can we walk and talk while we have this discussion?" she asked, handing the clipboard back to the ensign who had given it to her.

Noting the frustration of being interrupted, Bec nodded. "Of course, I was thinking of heading to the mess for some lunch after this, why don't we head there?"

"If you don't mind heading there via a couple of Jefferies tubes, I'd be all for that, Commander." Grabbing a belt with a handful of tools, she started moving toward the closest access tube.

"Cramped spaces and good company?" Bec shrugged. "So long as you don't want me messing about with anything, why not? Lead the way Lieutenant." She followed Avonavi to the tube access and watched the other woman crawl inside before shaking her head and following.

"Might want to shield your eyes, ma'am." Naryi said from above/in front of the XO, as the engineer took a tool from her belt. "But as to your question on whether I need anything or not, we're good for now. Most of my engineering personnel have reported in, and the remainder are scheduled to do by the Christening Ceremony. A few things the contractors didn't take care of..." a thump, one or two sparks, and what was undoubtedly a Troglyte profanity came from whatever Naryi was working on..."but you don't expect the builders to care for something as much as those who are planning to live it. And that'll do it. Watch your head, Commander. Next tube has a couple of low lying junction boxes," Naryi said, as she entered and began crawling along a horizontal tube.

Bec had tried to keep her eyes on Avonavi's ankles while the other woman was above her, but they kept sliding up. She convinced herself it was because she was just trying to see her face as she was talking. When she was told to shield her eyes, she did so, finally turning them down and onto the ladder she was standing on. "Builders only care about getting the job done and moving on to the next one. So long as it's functional, it's good," she said as she followed Avonavi into the horizontal tube. "I'm glad to hear that you have everything you need though, I know it's a pain to get everything in and done in such a short time," she ducked a second too late and bumped her head on one of the low junction box. "Son of a..." she stopped herself from swearing.

Naryi looked back over her shoulder and sighed. "Just back up until we get to the junction, Commander, so I can take a look at where you hit your head. Sorry, I guess I should have taken you a different route. You know, on your cadet cruises, engineering cadets have to spend all their shift crawling through the tubes," Naryi said with a smile.

"I'm good," Bec said, rubbing her forehead along the hairline. "And this is why I went into security. I mean, I don't mind tight spaces, but crawling in jeffries tubes is not my cup of tea." She still backed up, making sure to keep her head low. When she reached the junction, she moved to the side to let Avonavi in. She could feel a small bump forming, but wasn't concerned. It didn't hurt beyond a dull ache, which meant she didn't do any major damage. "This is what I get for not paying attention to where I'm going," she mused.

Naryi maneuvered herself in the junction so that she was slightly above the ship's first officer. "Not too bad," Naryi said, gingerly examining the bump. "Not too bad, Commander," Naryi observed. "My head was a solid mass of bruises for a week before I got accustomed to maneuvering in the tubes. If you like, Commander, we can head back down to the corridor and swing by sickbay before heading to the mess."

Bec fought hard to keep her eyes in a respectable place while Avonavi was leaned over her. When the woman finally leaned back, she nearly released a sigh of relief. "No," she started to talk but was interrupted by an audible rumble from her stomach. "I'll go after I get some grub, it doesn't hurt."

"if you'll follow me, Commander, I know a shortcut then," Naryi said with a smile. "And I promise, no low hanging obstacles." With that, Naryi took an upward diagonal.

'That are attached to the ship anyway,' Bec thought as she followed Avonavi through her shortcut. "Well, that was much more... pleasant," Bec quipped as they emerged from the tube and into a corridor. "Though, I think I'd rather stick to corridors and lifts from here on out. My head would appreciate it, at the very least."

"Commander, would you mind if I take a raincheck on lunch in the mess?" Naryi asked. "I need to do a little backtracking and check a couple of issues."

Bec nodded, though inwardly frowned, she was hoping to chat with the engineer a bit more, but she would have to settle for the short conversation they'd managed to have. "No problem," she gave Avonavi a shrug. "Maybe we'll have more time once we ship out. Good luck getting everything fixed," she added before heading into the mess to feed her now growling stomach.

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