Reflections on the Day

Posted on 17 Jan 2022 @ 2:29am by Lieutenant JG Tris Shizn
Edited on on 23 Jan 2022 @ 8:41pm

997 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Episode 18 - Cold Station 31
Location: Regula I - Level 16, Lt. Shizn’s Station Quarters
Timeline: MD 04, 2050 hours

[ON]

The door slid open to the station’s temporary quarters. Tris felt a feeling of relief and calm once again after a long day as he entered the room and sat down on the bed. He was really looking forward to a quiet evening and maybe a bite to eat later. He had snacked during his long day aboard the Denube Class Shuttle. He guessed a meal could be put off until later.

His cooling suit, under his uniform, had done its job well during the day, keeping him cool. Yet his body had still glistened, what humans called ‘sweat’. With it came many toxins his body didn’t want. The odor wasn’t too mad, but he certainly wanted a refreshing shower and a clean uniform before making another appearance on the Station.

The Andorian quickly stripped out of his uniform and cooling suit. He walked his naked blue body toward the shower. The cold air about him felt so good on his glistening skin. This made him very happy that he had remembered to turn down the environmental controls before leaving this morning. Humans find that the optimal temperature aboard ship should be about 20 degrees Celsius (68F). While most Andorians prefer something much cooler and closer to 7 degrees (45F). This is why a liquid cooling mesh undergarment worn under his uniform is such a must aboard most Federation vessels.

Stepping into the shower, “Computer, provide water for shower, 10 degrees Celsius.” ‘Ahhh’, he sighed to himself as the cold water began to splash over his body, bring a needed refreshing feeling. This was actually warm for him and helped relax some sore muscles. He figured that he would make it cooler later.

As he stood under the flow of the water upon his chest and then back, he began to recall the events of the day.

Tris was not sure how his shipmate and now cohort had put themselves in a position to spend an entire day doing ‘busy work’ for the station operations. They had, more or less, volunteered for flight duty. Lamar had really wanted to have access to a Denube Class Shuttle. Tris never found out the real reason. But, it was true, it had been a rewarding day with new experiences, even though just minor.

The two of them had to wait an entire day for them to get their flight orders, but they finally arrived. So, on the 4th day of their leave, they were to report to flight deck 3 at 0800 hours. There they had found a Denube Shuttle ready and waiting. With 2 technicians on board they launched, smooth and easy under Darius’ gentle hands.

The Commander had warned us that any unauthorized use of the shuttle or if the vessel passed beyond a specific boundary, that we would be brought up on charges. Tris was sure it would be something like disobeying orders, reckless endangerment with a space vehicle, and a slew of other minor infractions. Anything that might persuade us not to be ‘naughty’ with her equipment.

The orders/instructions provided were simple enough. We were to fly the shuttle slowly about the station, which allowed the Techs to use an external scan, instead of internal station sensors. They were looking for imperfections in the hull due to cosmic radiation as well as biological agents found and/or high energy emissions given off by the many space-going vessels that frequented the station. This was a laborious task, but needed to be done every few standard solar years. One would think that a scan like this would take just a few seconds, and then let the repair teams go and work on the hull. But it didn’t work that way. The repairs made to the hull needed to be checked as they were made. They had to be made from a specific distance from the hull.

“Computer,” Tris instructed, “lower water temperature to 5 degrees.”

The computer chimed acknowledgement, as Tris felt the further chilling water flow over his warm skin, at least warm to him.

Tris thought further about the monotonous task of their day. This type of scanning could have been done with any platform or vessel that wanted to sit outside the station’s hull for days at a time. But their plan was to use robotic repair units tasked to do the actual repairs. Multiple repair units were used on different locations of the station at the same time. The trick was to fly about the station, identifying needed repair sites, task the repair units, after the last unit was tasked, they would fly the shuttle back to the first sight to check the repair and reassign the repair unit to a different site close by to work on.

This chore of identifying, tasking, flying about to check and re-task went on all day. 10 hours of flying about the station, over and over and over. Shizn never heard a complaint out of Lamar the entire time. They did trade out flight control duty periodically. Tris felt that the Techs were probably more wore out then the pilots.

“Water off,” Tris called out before reaching for a towel and walking toward the bed, where he collapsed and looked up at the ceiling. “Time?” He asked.

“It is now twenty one fifteen hours Station time,” the computer replied.

‘Hmm,’ Tris thought, ‘I could dress and get a bite to eat?’ But then he sighed, feeling all his muscles relax. He wasn’t feeling that hungry. “I guess I can eat later. A good night sleep will probably do me wonders. Computer, lights out. Wake me at 0700 hours.”

“Acknowledged,” the computer replied as the lights dimmed and went out.

Tris repositioned himself better on the bed, resting his head on a very cool pillow. He breathed in deeply and let the air out slowly, relaxing into a slumber that he expected to enjoy for the next 10 hours.

[OFF]

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Lt. Tris Shizn
Helmsman
USS Galileo-A

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