Efficiency Vs. Economy - And other Schools of Engineering Thought

Posted on 26 Oct 2023 @ 7:05pm by Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor & Lieutenant JG Fynn Taymor & Chief Petty Officer Afthinam Naime & Petty Officer 2nd Class Donald Andrews & Petty Officer 3rd Class John Hollenday & Petty Officer 3rd Class Helliun 'Hel' Inant

2,402 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 18 - Cold Station 31
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 7, Main Engineering
Timeline: MD 18, 1315hrs

[ON]

"Hey Hel, can you grab me another hyperspanner." Donald called out from half way in half way out of a access panel. He was frantically trying to fix every last thing before they had to leave for the crew party later that day.

Hel looked at him, rolling her eyes before she reached to hand it over. "You know, if you just told me what you needed me to do, we could do this quicker," she said but it was playful. It was one of those things that there was enough work for one to do, not enough for two to divvy up. And that was from someone who had spent the morning working on the transporter buffers.

"Well unless you want to lay on top of me while we work there's only room for one of us under here." Donald called back, his hand emerging from the panel searching for Hel's hand.

Hel smiled as she put it in his hand, kneeling to watch him. "I would crush you like sandant, Donald," she said, meaning it, but with clear warmth. "And I struggle going under there at times. You do well."

"I wouldn't mind getting crushed by you." Donald said with a hearty laugh quickly followed by a loud clunk as the part he was using his first hyperspanner on came loose and hit the deck.

"You okay there?" Hel asked, the large clunk slightly worrying her as she watched him. She would joke about it all once she was sure he was okay. And not concussed.

"Yeah I'm fine, missed my head by a few inches." Donald replied. "Maybe my luck is turning at last."

"That we should live to see the day when your luck turns..." Chief Naime threw the comment from the other side of Engineering where she was busy with her own work on the newly installed flow converter. "And Hel, please no squashing Andrews like a sandant, we don't want to give the new bosses a bad first impression."

"Aw..." Hel looked down at Donald before she smiled. "But it would have been fun. But don't worry boss, I don't fool around within my own department." There was a more crass way of putting it, but Hel was in uniform so she tried not to be too...rough with her wording.

"None of us here kiss and tell." John quipped as he was heading down the tube. "Hey, I call it a moral booster and lately we could use all we can get."

"See, here I am calling it harassment," Hel said but she was smiling so she was still joking. She knew John was just joking, if he had been serious she would most likely have pushed him down the ladder or something by now. Easier than reporting it.

Sera heard the voices from the area surrounding access panel 629A-001 and raised a brow in silent inquiry. She had not had any opportunity to acquaint herself with any of the engineering staff outside of the ChEng, and was mildly curious as to what was going on.

So in typical Vulcan fashion, Sera walked up and cordially invited discourse by saying...

"What is going on here?"

Hel smiled the second she saw her, her yellow eyes regarding the woman. She saw the eyebrows, the pointed ears. A Vulcan. And she was happy she knew what a Vulcan was, had seen some of them when she was working. "We're watching Andrews repair stuff, it's entertaining," she declared, her eyes going to the rank. Ah, an Ensign. An Officer. "I'm Hel. Andrews is the one on his back under the panel. Hollenday's the charmer here..." she pointed at John. "And this wonderful creature here is Naime, who managed to climb higher than us in rank."

"You all are...obtaining satisfaction by watching a colleague work? That is not very efficient." Sera said plainly.

"I assure you if we weren't satisfied with Mister Andrews work and were still just watching that would be a much greater cause for concern. You would not want to see Hel when she is feeling unsatisfied." The wonderful creature by the flow converter clambered to her feet, brushing her hands off on the uniform before offering one to the Vulcan in greeting "You must be Ensign Sera, the new deputy, it's good to meet you, sir." Naime addressed the officer in full with role more to clear up any confusion in the others than looking for any confirmation.

Sera looked down to the hand being offered and then back up to the face of Chief Naime. She did not reciprocate the gesture, but not out of any malice...Vulcans simply did not generally touch others. Pesky touch telepathy.

Sera studied the female standing in front of her for a few seconds before responding, "Greetings, Chief. You are correct." Sera responded as cordially as she could possibly muster, which meant she only sounded slightly like a bored automaton.

"Is this a common occurrence aboard Galileo?" Sera inquired as she gestured between the group - and obviously NOT getting the subtle double entendre regarding Hel's hypothetical state of satisfaction.

"If you mean major repairs following a battle with enemy ships, then yes surprisingly often for a science ship." The chief pulled back her hand, not at all offended and perhaps with a little grin of respect. She wasn't exactly a fan of these human customs either. "If you mean deriving satisfaction from Mister Andrews work then I can assure you he is a wonderful engineer."

Surprisingly often? Well that was only mildly alarming. She tilted her head in a gesture of further consideration of what the Chief just said for Sera didn't outright understand what Naime meant by the continuing use of the word satisfaction. Sera was obviously missing something. It was not an infrequent occurrence.

"That remains to be seen, Chief." Sera responded neutrally as she studied PO2 Andrews with a measure of calculation.

A small voice in Naime's head was telling her that the ensign didn't mean that as a disparaging remark, that its just her Vulcan mannerisms. Naime was not a woman who was ruled by small voices though. "These engineers are deserving of your respect, sir. Without them there would be no ship left. It does not remain to be seen, they have been weighted and they have been measured and each one of them has been found to be exceptional." The cheery warmth of her greeting had iced over.

Sera's expression remained carefully blank as she considered what the necessary course of action was here.

"I will accept your opinion, Chief Naime, as you have experience and expertise regarding Galileo that I lack. You also know the worth of the engineering personnel here given your position. However...I will insist that in the future, if you feel the need to convey any other personal impressions please do so in a manner that better abides by the chain of command. A more appropriate setting would be sufficient."

This interaction was proving to be less ideal than anticipated. Most unfortunate. Curiosity regarding the strange tableau Sera observed had not been conveyed adequately. The Chief appeared to take offense to Sera's remark - but she had not said anything for the purpose of causing offense.

John kept a low profile and then melted away to find something else to work on. "Officers, just what we need when we don't need them, and never there when you do."

"Of course, sir." Naime's response was chilly. There was a moment of silence, the previously jovial atmosphere of the room had evaporated. Part of her knew she had been in the wrong here and had once again flown off the handle over nothing. She needed to right this ship, wasn't it herself who has just a moment ago told Hel that they needed to make a good impression?

The silence lingered for a little longer than it should have before the chief swallowed and tried her best to bring some warmth back to her voice. "Is there anything we could do to get you a bit more settled in with the ship? I could catch you up on our current repair work and I'm sure Hel over here would love to give you a detailed tour of the warp core some time." The more words she said the easier it got, could even end here with a tiny joke that maybe even a Vulcan would appreciate "Probably a better use of her time than observing Mister Andrews."

Sera tilted her head slightly in consideration. "Indeed." She responded blandly, "Unless Mr. Andrews requires intensive supervision?" It was Sera's attempt at levity within a less-than-ideal conversation. When dealing with non-Vulcans, Sera had come to the conclusion--albeit one she did not share with anyone else--that it was best to adapt responses to what would hypothetically be best received. She had forgotten that with the intensive rehabilitation back on Vulcan.

"It would be agreeable to be...'caught up' on the current repair work; and I would find a tour acceptable. Every ship has its...quirks. It would be more logical than discovering them on my own."

Hel leant against the console as she observed the exchange, fascinated by the Vulcan. She was still smiling because if nothing else, it was funny. "Oh, Andrews won't blow up anything while we're not here...right?" she moved her boot against Andrew's to gently kick it. A nudge actually.

Sera watched the nudge Hel made against Andrew's foot and took what she said regarding his technical ability in stride. This was banter. She was certain of it.

Don't mess this up.

"Given Chief Naime's vouching for all of your abilities, I would consider such an outcome to be highly unlikely. However, there is a first time for...everything?" Sera's voice ended a little higher turning the statement into a question. She was trying...she really was.

"On this ship? Oh yes. Many firsts, I assure you," Hel said with a laugh, arching an eyebrow at the Vulcan. She'd do well here, she could tell. Would need some time to get used to them and the others to her, but Hel could tell she'd fit well here. "You'll love the hum of our warp core. It has a certain...musicality to it I haven't seen on another ship."

This...this was something Sera understood. The harmonics of a warp core were individualized; each ship a different melody. Such variances were brought on by installation, ship configuration...and perhaps the Warp Gods, as one of her Academy instructors had quipped during his explanation of sound variation.

"Each ship has its own...song." Sera offered as a reply. "I must admit that I am eager to further investigate main engineering."

It was logical after all. It was also splitting hairs, for Sera's eagerness was more steeped in desire more than any cerebral inclination for further knowledge.

Donald shuffled slightly further out of the access hatch he was in. "You all gonna stand there talking or is someone going to pass me the part I need to fix this ship?" He called out.

Hel rolled her eyes in a dramatic fashion for the general entertainment of those around her before she knelt, picking up the part and putting it in his hand. "You know, Donald, next time I think I will just do it," she said teasingly. It was a joke, Donald was the best out of the two of them for repairs like that. Hel was good for the things where you needed solid bones and a high heat tolerance.

"At long last, some teamwork." Naime winked in the direction of the Vulcan ensign. She was still in damage control, trying to keep things light after she, once again, snapped at a superior. Would a Vulcan appreciate the levity? She wasn't sure so she also added on a little bit of business talk, just in case. "Do you have much experience with the Nova class sir?"

"I have no experience at all with the Nova class. The extended journey to report here was more than sufficient time to adequately familiarize myself with the engineering schematics, however."

"I was in the same boat until just three weeks ago. She's a beautiful ship, everything in here is new, state of the art. You'll fall in love just like the rest of us did." Naime pointed with a thumb in the direction of the flow converter "She's had a bit of a rough start in life though. We've been patching up the PTCs over the last few days, must have had to completely replace about thirty percent of the casings." And now we're all completely exhausted.

"I...doubt that." It was a Vulcan answer to Naime's declaration that Sera would fall in love with the ship. Not wanting to get into a possible debate regarding the warp core eliciting an--to Sera anyway--incomprehensible emotional response, she changed the subject.

"If there are still outstanding repairs, I will assist."

"This is the Galileo," Hel said as she looked up from where she was, and her yellow eyes shone with humour. "There is always something that needs repairing."

That was not what Sera asked. She was more than aware that star ships were holes in space that parts were thrown into endlessly. However, she wasn't that much of a 'hard-assed' Vulcan to bring that little tidbit of technicality to Petty Officer Inant's attention.

"Indeed." Sera agreed blandly, and then after a brief moment of silence, added, "Well. Carry on."

It seems like as good a time as any to continue on her way.

"Carrying on, sir." Naime answered affirmatively. Waiting a moment until the Vulcan was out of sight she meandered over to Hel and Andrews and with a light tap of her foot on a part of Donald that was sticking out from his work she quietly mused "Going to have to move the still again."



[OFF]

--

Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor
Deputy Engineer
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Fynn Taymor
Chief Engineer
USS Galileo-A

CPO Afthinam Naime
Engineer
USS Galileo-A

PO2 Donald Andrews
Engineer
USS Galileo-A
[pnpc Mimi]

PO3 Helliun 'Hel' Inant
Engineer
USS Galileo-A
[pnpc Rice]

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