Dropping In

Posted on 06 Mar 2016 @ 5:51pm by Lieutenant JG Natalya Kirilova & Chief Warrant Officer 2 Anthony Duval
Edited on on 14 Mar 2016 @ 3:11am

1,186 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: USS Galileo - Main Engineering
Timeline: MD81 - 1230Hrs

[ON]

Anthony Duval slowly blinked his eyes as he walked through the double doors into Main Engineering on the USS Galileo, his new home away from home.

He glanced around the room as he looked at the few faces already presently here. Most of them have the looks of bored starbase personnel rather then personnel assigned to this ship. "Anyone seen the Chief?" he asked.

"She's right over there sir."

Duval nodded before he plodded over towards her, stopping within a few feet. "Chief." he greeted her by position rather then rank. "Warrant Officer Second Class Anthony Duval, reportin' for work." he explained who he was.

Natalya put down her PADD as Duval approached. She hadn't been terribly busy, just going over some daily reports. "Ah, Chief Warrant Officer Duval. Nice to meet you." She offered a hand.

Personally Natalya didn't mind being called chief. It was efficient, even though it was usually reserved for chief petty officers. She was willing to loosen up in terms of address, but for the first couple meetings she usually addressed fellow crew by their earned rank, until she got a better idea of what they were like.

Duval gently shook her hand. "And you Lieutenant." he responded evenly. "Anything you need fixed?"

"Oh you know... there's always something that needs fixing." Natalya moved to glance at the master systems display, and tapped a command to show the shift's maintenance and repair schedule. If Duval was the kind of engineer who wanted to get his hands on a task as soon as possible, then she would certainly do her best to oblige him.

"Well, the planetary development lab is getting some hardware upgrades. Waste recycling is having an inspection. And... apparently the shuttlebay doors have gotten a little squeaky. A work order just got put in to check those out. Oh and I've also promised a few hands to help Ops take care of rearranging some quarters for new arrivals. We're waiting on their go-ahead for that." Natalya sighed. "All the fun jobs get taken pretty quick, it seems."

"Sounds like it." Duval responded as he quickly read over the list. "Mmm.. sensor pallet's two and six are on the fritz. Thats an EVA assignment." he turned back to her. "I'll go handle the shuttlebay doors then look after the sensors." as he regarded the smaller woman before him. "If that's alright with you sir."

Natalya nodded. Things weren't so hectic that all hands needed to be exactly where she needed them. This was a time when engineers who wanted work could choose what they wanted, and many got a chance to do things they normally didn't get to do.

"A repair team is suiting up to check on those pallets as we speak. But if that door doesn't give you too much trouble, there should be some work left." She smiled. There were always a few engineers who'd avoid EVA work whenever possible. But to balance that out there were usually a few who wanted to log as many hours in an EVA suit as they could.

Duval paused. "I should explain something.." he paused. "I apologize in advance but... I don't play games... if I say I'm going to take an hour, then I mean an hour. No word games."

Natalya might have been taken aback, had she not known exactly what Duval was talking about. She didn't know exactly how the rumor was started, but many in Starfleet seemed to believe that all engineers always said that their work would take longer than it actually did. She didn't understand why people in Starfleet believed any of it. Work and repair orders were carefully logged and kept on file. They were collated and used to determine training standards, promotions and future design considerations. An engineer who constantly overestimated his work would eventually have to answer for the discrepancy, just as with the opposite.

"Noted. And relax, Mister Duval." Natalya tried to say soothingly, and not in a chiding manner. "We embrace precision and efficiency. But with that said, we call them work estimates for a reason." No one was going to get on his case if he was off on a work estimate here and there. It happened to the best engineers.

Duval nodded his head. "Fair enough Lieutenant." he responded, a soft sigh escaping as he said it. "Do you have any questions for me?"

Natalya looked thoughtful for a moment. Sometimes she had questions, sometimes she didn't. Depended on a lot of things, really. Usually she kept the list short. His service record could probably answer most of them, and she wasn't the type of person who liked to glean insights about people on day one.

"Just one, really. Won't take up too much more of your time. Any specific goals? Anything you want to learn? I haven't taken a look at your service record yet, so I don't know what kind of training and experience you have, but if there's somewhere you'd like to be, let me know and I'll do the best I can." She offered a small smile. Duval didn't seem like the kind of guy who would hold back if he had something on his mind, but in truth she didn't really know him yet. Everyone had jobs to do in engineering, yes, but she also wanted to promote professional growth when she could.

Duval regarded the smaller woman, finding himself liking her almost immediately. "Well I've been in since before the Dominion War... so I have about twenty years of experience... But I want to help out where needed... "

Natalya nodded with a measure of understanding. The war had just ended when she started her first year at the academy, but she'd been in Starfleet long enough to make almost everything seem familiar. "Once we get out of spacedock and off station power we'll be able to run some proper drills. If those don't show us where your experience is most needed, I don't know what will." She offered a smile, but it looked a little shaky. Drills were a great way to train, but they tended to be high profile, and often exposed deficiencies in a way for all to see.

Duval nodded his head, accepting what she was saying and not saying. "I look forward to it Lieutenant." he responded with a soft sigh. "So... I'll go handle the issue with the hanger doors. It shouldn't take me too long. With your permission?"

The sigh made Duval sound a bit bored, but Natalya could hardly fault him for that. She wasn't exactly known for stimulating conversation. She didn't discount the notion that conversation might be exhausting for him though... she'd certainly met her share of people who felt that way.

"Of course, don't let me keep you." She said as if it were no problem. She was not notoriously talkative, and didn't want to give people the impression that it would be rude to want to talk less and work more.

[OFF]

Lieutenant JG Natalya Kirilova
Chief Engineer
USS Galileo

Warrant Officer 2nd Class Anthony Duval
Engineer
USS Galileo

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