The Canadian Engineer

Posted on Fri Oct 22nd, 2021 @ 7:47pm by Lieutenant Commander Brandon Pratt & Captain Maho Takahashi & Lieutenant Terrence "Terry" Johnston

1,322 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Handling the Fallout
Location: Main Engineering

Maho had recently gotten word of a shakeup down in engineering. Not only had a familiar face from Senpai's days returned, but also one of the earliest candidates that had been screened for a replacement Chief Engineer had suddenly reached out, wondering if the position was still open. Maho had responded that it was, and had made the arrangements to bring him on board.

Maho had considered calling him to her ready room to report in. However, she had decided that it would be best to meet engineers where they were most comfortable, down in main engineering. She had overheard someone back in the Academy equate engineers to 'Warp Core Bats', due to their tendency to only leave engineering when it was necessary, and for whatever reason, the term had stuck in Maho's head.

And so, that was how Maho found herself in a turbolift bound for Deck 14. She had come to appreciate the soft music that piped through the turbolifts; a feature implemented in the Project Jomo retrofit. The turbolift had made several stops on the way down from the bridge, and personnel had cycled in and out of the lift at the various stops. From the final stop on Deck 10, Maho was accompanied in the lift by two engineers bound for Deck 16 and the engineering labs.

"This is my stop, gentlemen." Maho said as the turbolift doors opened on Deck 14.

Stepping out of the turbolift, Maho took in the calming blue glow of the Myogi's warp core, and was relieved that engineering was still largely the way it had been left.

Engineer Terry Johnston had just happened to be passing in front of the Turbolifts on his way to a different workstation when his attention was caught by the sound of the captain's voice exiting the turbolift:

"Hey there, cap-! I mean, Commander Takahashi." He greeted. "Good lord, that sounds so weird to say; I haven't called you Commander in years."

"Good to see you too, Johnston." Maho responded. "Say, you haven't seen your new boss around lately, have you?"

"Ah, he oughta be around here somewhere." Terry replied.

"Commander." Lieutenant Pratt had ducked from underneath the EPS power conduit interlinked between the core and the internal gangway leading to the port nacelle. Ducking around and adjusting his Engineering uniform strait, Brandon smiled. "You caught me. I was taking a quick run around the works." Pratt met the Commander near the engineering master systems display. He offered Commander Takahashi a sharp one-off salute of respect. Brandon's green eyes were meeting the XOs.

"Chief Engineer Lieutenant Pratt reporting for duty Ma'am." He offered humbly. "Commander. I am honored you have accepted me once more..." Pratt had acknowledged the fact that here he was once more for duty. Yet, he had been called back to Earth for a family emergency, one that happened to involved his two parents. All said and done. Things were now smooth on the Homefront. Brandon had no longer needed to be a caregiver, returning to his life... His home now. A career in the Engineering Corps in the stars. Seeing the Commander, he had noticed a few familiar faces around, and was happy.

"The pleasure is all mine, Lieutenant." Maho responded. "We're running a little short-staffed after everything that's happened, and it will likely be that way for quite a while longer."

"The Myogi is just as I remember her." Brandon beamed at Commander Takahashi. "Lieutenant Johnston here." Pratt turned to include the officer, placing his large hand at the Lieutenants shoulder. "Terry has done a fine job constituting the ship's retrofits. The New Orleans class has certainly stepped up its game once more." Pratt had gestured to the master display on the pool table, shaking his head at the upgrades. "Commander, I have yet to hear of any other vessels in Starfleet receiving a matter reactant injector accepting room temperature non-cold storage into the primary deuterium tankage." Brandon himself was in awe, perhaps to be lost on the Commander.

"Project Jomo was very forward-thinking for its time." Maho said. "Miyahara used to say always look to the future, and he applied that principle to everything he did, even when demons rose from the pits of hell and ultimately took him down, he stood against them in the interest of creating a safer Federation for ourselves and our posterity. It was a damn shame to lose such a forward thinker, that's for sure."

"Captain Miyahara." Brandon had remembered the countless reports on the USS Tokyo and its resulting investigations. "There were a lot of detractors. The Captain's anti-corruption agenda had ruffled a lot of feathers, perhaps, shortening his career."

"Commander." Pratt had added. "The reverence of his duties, Miyahara's ideals were inspirational to all of us within the Fleet. I am happy. We share similar admiration for his duty and service." Chief Pratt pleased, he offered. "Please. Come have a seat in my office, Commander." Brandon had gestured. "I am curious. Have you the mission orders for the Myogi?"

"I do," Maho admitted. "However, the Klingon ambassador has requested that I not share it until after I have met with him on the matter of our next assignment. You know how Klingons can get, especially when you go behind their back."

Pratt had lent a knowing grin, as he nodded acknowledgement. The Commander was kind enough to indulge his curiosity.

"Anyhow, I thought your name looked familiar on the manifest." Maho said, changing the subject. "I'm glad Johnston wasn't the only one who appealed their transfer orders, and with you as our new head of engineering, I can rest easy knowing that my warp core is in good hands."

"Sir, anything in particular you would like Engineering to focus on this upcoming mission?" Brandon had his padd at the ready. Pratt always enjoyed being productive as it was in his very nature.

"Well, if we can spare the manpower, it might be good to have a team on standby to assist the engineering of a Nebula Class." Maho said. "From what I've read, I'm fully expecting some kind of scuffle to go down."

"Interesting." Pratt had listened to the Commander. "I will have a scuttle team on the standby. I'll have them begin to review specs, possible scenarios. Could be a good training session on the holodeck for engineering officers." Brandon jotted down the information on his padd.

"Like I said, I'm expecting a scuffle, so the task of damage control will be up to Engineering as well." Maho continued. "True, it might be Federation weapons on us, but they can still deal a lot of damage. If any of the new engineers coming aboard haven't dealt with running damage control at all, perhaps it would be a good idea to run them through drills."

Brandon nodded in acknowledgement. "I shall have the engineering programs up to date and available for situational training." Pratt jotted down the time and accommodations for new training and orientation of engineering staff from the Starbase.

"I thank you for indulging me, Commander Takahashi." With that Brandon had stood up from his seat, understanding the busy nature it was at this time of a Starship's organizing and departure. "How many engineers will I expect?" Pratt asked. Considering the Commander had mentioned.

"The New Orleans is a smaller ship, so I'd say about 20 as a rough guess, possibly lower than that number." Maho guessed.

Pratt acknowledged the Commander. "That is a sizeable amount. We are lucky." Just then, Pratt had a call from a work site operation currently on Deck 07 in the re-purposing bay. "I have been summoned to Deck 07. I am required for an engineer consult." Lieutenant Pratt had gently taped his anxiousness at his padd. "Thank you for the visit Commander. It was a pleasure."

Posting by

Commander Maho Takahashi
Commanding Officer
USS Myogi

&

Lieutenant Brandon Pratt
Chief of Engineering
USS Myogi

&

Lieutenant JG Terrence "Terry" Johnston
Engineering Officer
USS Myogi

RSS Feed